Title: Perfect For You
Author: roxminallo
Disclaimer: Square-Enix own's ALL rights. Song lyrics to "Who Knew" belong to P!nk. "I'd Give It All For You" and "You Don't Know" all rights reserved to respected composer/lyricist.
"I'd Give It All For You" - Songs for a New World
"You Don't Know" - Bare
Rating: PG-13.. ish...
Author's Note: The more I write this the more angry I get. I'm up to Chapter six now, and I've been having them proofread and edited by myself and my friend, and I just don't feel connected to it. I know I can write better, and I know that this plot may not be strong enough. However, I'm going to continue with it, because I'm not the type of person to quit. AND if you actually like this, then ignore everything I just said. Please critique, and let me know what I need to fix, and what I need help on!
Setting: Destiny Islands
Date Begun: March 19, 2013
Date Posted: April 26, 2013
Chapter Two – "Down the Rabbit Hole"
If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them ou-
The white wooden door flew open, with one melodramatic Sora. "Please, turn that damn alarm off!"
Roxas rolled over to the side, only to place one of his pillows over his head, trying to block out the sound of his favorite song, and a very annoying brother. Sora maneuvered his way to the nightstand, and turned it off himself. Immediately after, he ripped the comforter from Roxas's bed, revealing a curled up, displeased boy. Roxas threw the pillow straight at Sora, receiving a small laugh and a smile.
"Sora, get the fuck out." He sighed, rubbing a hand through his messy hair. Out the window, the smallest picture of a horizon was forming. He fought a smile, secretly excited for school and the beautiful fall weather.
"Rox, that alarm's been going off for twenty minutes now. How can you sleep through that?" Sora threw his arms in the air dramatically, watching Roxas slowly roll out of bed. "Demyx is already downstairs. Let's go!" Sora said happily skipping out of the room. Roxas sighed and made his way over to his closet, picking out a pair of tight dark jeans, black converse, and a red long sleeve shirt. Taking his choices into the bathroom down the hall, he turned the shower on, letting himself release the tension he had acquired ever since the over-exuberant ball of fuck decided to wake him up.
After he slipped out of his boxers and t-shirt, he slowly walked into the shower, and let his body react to the sudden temperature change. The house had an eerie chill to it, now that it had been the middle of October. Roxas had always preferred to be colder than hotter. As he let the warm water slide off his body, he quickly washed himself, singing lightly to wake up his voice. Noticing that he had let his mind wander, he immediately stopped himself, letting a look of sadness overtake his features. He turned off the water and slowly stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist.
"You sound good Rox." Sora added lightly, being truly honest. His voice was distant, making Roxas think that he was walking through the hallway to his own room.
"... Thanks." Was his only respond, blocking out the thoughts and the world from around him. Damn it Roxas just get over it...
It wasn't even a big deal. Was it?
He quickly dried off his body, and finished his early morning ritual. Brush teeth, deodorant, and cologne. He looked at the door and locked it, knowing quite well that Sora would get impatient and try to drag him out half naked. Roxas slipped on the red long-sleeve t-shirt, and put on his undergarments. Halfway through putting his jeans on, he heard a loud knock on the door along with a wail of impatience.
"Roxas! Hurry up!" He heard the door knob giggle, earning an exasperated sigh from the brunette on the other side of the door.
When he finally finished tying his shoes, he looked in the mirror, and rubbed his towel through his hair allowing it to fall in its normal position. He sighed deeply and placed on a nervous smile. "Hold on, ya doofus." He slowly opened the door, walking past Sora who looked mighty displeased. He walked into his room quickly, grabbing his phone and his backpack, before slinging it over his back. He walked down the stairs seeing Demyx waving frantically.
"Aunt Aerith, we're leaving!" Roxas yelled into the kitchen, receiving a surprised sound and a shuffle of feet. Aerith soon entered the foyer, smiling brightly at the two boys who showed two completely different emotions.
"Be careful! If you need anything, just call. Everything's going to be just fine." She said sweetly, grabbing the two boys and pulling them into a hug.
"It's just high school." Roxas said blandly, receiving a gawk from Sora.
"It's not just high school, Rox. This is a NEW school. Nobody knows us; we can be anything we want to be! We have to make friends with all the popular kids, obviously." Sora said shallowly only to see a sigh from the blonde.
"Let's… Just go…" Roxas sighed, opening the front door to the cold October day. As he walked down the driveway and onto the sidewalk, he could feel the enthusiasm from the other two boys. He sighed, turning back around to face forward when he saw a redheaded girl in the distance. As they got closer, she looked like she was also on her way to school. She looked the same age, and she was beautiful.
"Kairi, over here!" The girl quickly looked to her left, flashing a beautiful smile. Her red hair blew gently in the crisp wind, adding a model-like aura to her. She stood still, almost waiting for the group of boys to meet in front of her house. And they did.
"Hey Dem. New meat?" She smiled, playfully eying the two boys in front of her.
"You better believe it! This is Roxas, and this is Sora! They just moved here becaus- Wait, why did you transfer?" Roxas felt a sting deep down in his stomach as he looked over to Sora who looked more than willing to share the reason.
"Well our -"
"Our old school was undergoing academic issues and we had to transfer to the islands. Let's go, I don't want to be late." Roxas cut in, flashing a glare to Sora who only looked away guiltily.
"Umm… Well okay then." Demyx said slowly, hinting at the anger that flourished from the blonde.
"Either way, it's nice to meet you two. It's nice to see some unfamiliar faces once in a while." Kairi smiled brightly at the two, and flashed Roxas a sensitive smile.
"It's great to be here! Twilight Town was so boring. Same old, same old, day after day. It's great to be somewhere new." Sora said with a smile, earning a second glare from Roxas.
The walk continued for another slow and painful five minutes, as Demyx babbled on about all the extra-curricular activities that Sora could get into. Roxas tried to block out the constant talking, as he occasionally looked over to see Kairi staring at him, only to see her quickly look away.
What's her problem?
"The soccer team is AMAZING; Sora you should definitely talk to the coach!" Demyx screeched loudly as they walked up to the school courtyard.
"Maybe I will, Dem. Thanks!" Sora beamed, looking at the beautiful school in front of them. The school was massive, and unlike anything they had ever seen. The large island trees covered the courtyard, giving some shade to students as they passed by. The school was split up into what looked like three buildings. Roxas sighed, knowing he'd have to ask Demyx later. That, he dreaded immediately.
"What about you Roxas? What sort of things do you do?" Demyx questioned, honestly interested in what he had to say.
"Roxas is so good at sing-"
"Oh, hey Axel! Get over here!" Demyx cut in to yell at a passing student in the distance. Roxas sighed, honestly not wanting to meet any more people. He saw the man named Axel run over in a hurry. Equipped to the taller, seemingly older male was the most crimson red hair and piercing green eyes that Roxas had ever seen. Honestly, it was breathtaking.
"Axel! This is Sora, and this is Roxas! They're new this year. Be good to them!" Demyx smiled, pointing to the two calling them out with a flourish of his voice.
"Nice to meet you Sora." The redhead said playfully, before turning his eyes to Roxas. "Well hey there. You have to be new. I would have remembered somebody as cute as you." Axel smiled, only to receive a nudge from the other redhead in the group.
"Axel, not everybody would like to feel personally victimized on their first day of school. At least wait till tomorrow." Kairi joked, receiving an amused grin from Axel.
"Anyway, Roxas. What is it that you're into?" Kairi smiled lightly, honestly interested in what Roxas had to say.
"Nothing." Roxas replied flatly, before Sora jumped in.
"He is an amazing singer! And he dances! He used to do all the musicals and plays that our community theatre and school did. He always got the leads cause he's incredible! Then he stopped last year." Sora smiled, doing the best he could at showing off his brother. He knew that he was about to get his ass chewed out, so it was a miracle he managed to get that much out.
"Sora, shut up!" Roxas yelled harshly, sending his brother an unforgivable look before walking past the group and walking into school by himself.
"Roxas isn't doing well with this whole moving thing well… He's never like this, really." Sora defended, even though he felt like he should be taken back with the rest of the group. "It was hard for him to leave everything behind. Especially because we didn't leave willingly." Sora said easily, not remembering that Roxas had stopped him not once, but twice from saying the truth.
Demyx tilted his head, confused, before asking, "But I thought there were problems with your school?" Sora shook his head lightly, feeling the urge to allow the group of teenagers into the life of the two brothers.
"Um… About four months ago our mother died." Suddenly, he felt uneasy telling a group of total strangers the most important thing in his life. "We were on the way to go see Roxas in a show down in Twilight Town. It was his first professional production, and he was so excited. He even had a good part."
"It was raining, pretty hard actually. The one day in summer that it had rained, and mom... lost control of the car. We hydroplaned off the road and into the embankment of the side of the train station…" Sora parted his hair gently, showing the group a four-inch scar across his scalp.
"Mom's airbag didn't deploy in time and she broke right through the windshield, crashing onto the hood of the car…" Sora hated telling this story. Every time he told it, it was as if he was reliving the entire situation.
"We were both rushed to the hospital, but… Mom was so beaten up that she had her scalp sliced open, and she suffered internal bleeding. I was so lucky to live through that. The doctors said that the only thing that stopped me from the same damages was my air bag."
Sora searched for the words to say next, making sure he chose them carefully.
"Roxas umm… Roxas didn't find out till after the show… When we weren't there." This was the hardest part for Sora to take. "Umm… My dad was on a business trip that week. He immediately flew back in and rushed to mine and Roxas's side." Kairi tried to smile sympathetically.
"Roxas though… He can't admit it. He feels like it's his fault that Mom died. If he wouldn't have had that show, or something…"
"But that's not his fault. How would he have known that would happen?" Axel cut in, seeming adamant about defending the boy.
"That's what I said… But everything was made worse when Dad just got up and left one day, about a month ago." Demyx's mouth opened wide, shocked at the stories end.
"We were almost thrown into foster care, but my Aunt and Uncle came to the rescue and immediately moved us out here to the islands. And now… Well, here we are." Sora finished, knowing quite well of the attention he got after this story had been told. It was the same. It was always the same.
"Listen, I didn't tell you that to feel sorry for me. I told you this, so that you don't think Roxas is a total dick. He's having a hard time with this, and he just needs people that can be friends." Sora explained easily.
Kairi smiled, nudging the two other boys. "If it's friends he wants, then it's friends he'll get."
Everybody but Axel smiled and laughed. "That's why he didn't want anybody knowing about singing and dancing. He feels guilty doing it now." Sora's smile faltered at Axel's comment, but slowly nodded his head.
"Well, if he's as good as you say, we're just going to have to change his mind." Axel smiled, earning a questioning look from Kairi and Demyx.
"I'm assistant director of the musical that we're having auditions for in a couple days. I'll see what I can do." Axel smiled, earning an awe-filled expression from Sora and the rest of the group.
"Let's hope he doesn't put up a fight." Sora said jokingly, as the group walked into the building.
Roxas walked into the main office, and made his way over to the front desk. He couldn't shake the temper that had formed due to Sora's expressive personality. He closed his eyes, and tried to control his breath before talking to the secretary.
"Um… I'm new here…" He said plainly, running a hand through his thick blonde spikes.
"Name please, sweetheart." She gave him a confident smile.
"Roxas Gainsborough." He stated simply, watching her thumb through a filing cabinet of names.
"Gainsborough, Gainsbo- Ah ha!" She smiled and pulled out two schedules. Looking them over quietly she then found the correct one. "Roxas, here you are. I see your brother hasn't come yet."
He laughed lightly, almost dryly before announcing, "Don't hold your breath." He exchanged a thank you, and looked over the schedule before exiting. His aunt had put the schedule together without asking either of them. He immediately flushed and felt a heavy weight in his stomach as he saw a dance class, voice class, and a musical theatre class. Those paired with the honors classes that his aunt had enrolled him in would surely be the death of him.
When he walked out of the office, he spotted the group again, immediately causing his blood pressure to skyrocket. Sora shot him a sympathetic smile, Demyx pretended not to notice that he still looked upset, and Axel sent him a flirtatious smile. Roxas rolled his eyes and turned around before feeling his schedule ripped from his hands.
"Looks like we have first block together!" Kairi smiled lightly before grabbing his arm and pulling him away. "I'll take good care of him boys." She laughed and rounded the corner. Roxas turned his head to the side to see a smile plastered onto her porcelain-like face. He faced forward, seeing the mass amounts of students crowding the hallway. Across from them, was a terrace-like walkway that opened up to another larger, newer looking building.
"That's the performing arts building. That's where we'll be the first half of the day." Kairi tried her best to smile, knowing quite well that Roxas would have a hard time dealing with the classes they would be taking.
"Great…" Roxas sighed, letting Kairi lead the way, trying his best to convince himself that this was no big deal. Like last year.
The school was at least twice the size of the school they attended in Twilight Town. The Academic Building, where Sora would spend most of his day, was a whole entity in itself. Rising to a total of three floors, Sora knew that he would most definitely get lost within the first couple hours.
"I have Advanced Trigonometry…" Sora said without enthusiasm, secretly cursing his Aunt for telling the Island Cove High faculty that he was borderline genius.
"I do too!" Demyx yelled, throwing his arms wildly into the air. Somehow, Sora couldn't comprehend how Demyx had scored his way into an advanced placement course.
"I'll walk with you." Demyx smiled and waved goodbye to Axel before grabbing Sora by the arm and dragging him through the crowded halls.
"The teacher is a little crazy, but you'll get used to it. Just do your work and you'll be on his good side." Demyx smiled brightly and stopped in front of a solid wooden door before entering. "Now… Just relax. This is the easiest class I've ever taken." Demyx opened the door only to run over to a slate-haired boy who was sitting in the front row. He saw Demyx place a small kiss on the other boys' cheek, earning an exasperated sigh from the boy.
Surprisingly, Sora didn't see that coming. Sora laughed lightly to himself before making his way to the professor. He had long dirty blonde hair that was as straight as a pin. He had a frumpy looking face, and wore a white lab coat. Sora took a look at his schedule, noticing the name of the professor.
"Umm… Professor Vexen?" Sora said lightly, watching the older man turn around from the blackboard with a smug expression.
"I'm Sora… The uh, new kid." Sora said, turning around to the class that was watching him intently.
"Oh! Sora! I've heard wonderful things about your academic career from the faculty over at Twilight Academy. Welcome!" He said happily, noticing the shocked expressions of Demyx and his classmates. "You can sit next to… hmmm… Where shall I put you? I didn't plan this ahead… Um… Ah! Riku. Raise your hand Riku."
In the back corner of the room, Sora saw a hand levitating in the air. Immediately taken back, Sora looked down to the ground as he walked up to the desk. He hid the blush that appeared on his face when he stared intently at the other boy. This Riku boy was truly a wonder. He had the most beautiful silver hair that trickled down his face like a waterfall, and his skin was a beautiful porcelain. When Riku's gaze met with Sora's, Sora noticed the most beautiful aquamarine colored eyes he had ever seen.
"Umm… H-Hi." Sora whispered lightly, as he took his seat. Riku met his gaze and sighed, turning back to Professor Vexen who was babbling on about SOHCAHTOA.
"I said hi..." Sora said again, only to see a hand fly up to a swatting motion.
"I heard you." Riku replied coldly, writing down formulas into his notebook.
"The least you could do was say hello back. I mean, I didn't think I was that interruptive." Sora replied, simply just wanting to feel welcomed by the Greek god sitting next to him.
"Are you finished?" Riku turned his head, and with a flare in his voice. The class stopped, causing Vexen to turn around and lock his eyes with the two in the back corner.
"Is there a problem Riku?" Vexen raised his eyebrows, feeling impatient for being interrupted.
"Nothing at all Vexen. I'm just trying to explain the interruption rules to Sora here." Riku flashed an award-winning smile before Vexen rolled his eyes and turned back to the board, continuing the daily lesson.
Sora watched as Riku's gaze ascended back to his notebook, paying no attention to the other boy's presence in the room. He grabbed his notebook from his backpack and began writing the formulas and examples that Vexen had put on the board.
Occasionally, Sora would steal a look over to the beautiful silver haired male, only to see that same uninterested look in his eye. Sora sighed, finding himself doodling and scribbling all over his notebook page. When the bell finally rang, he sprung up from his seat, ready to apologize for being disruptive. Before he could, Riku had walked the complete other way and over to people who looked like they were too cool and too popular to be seen here. Sora sighed, placing everything into his backpack before walking over to Demyx and his mystery boy.
"Sora, I'm so sorry Vex put you next to Riku. He's such a rich bastard." Demyx sighed, picking up his backpack from the floor. "Oh! This is Zexion. We're sorta… Kind of... a thing." Demyx laughed lightly, feeling the light blush on his face.
"I know. I saw you kiss him earlier." Sora smiled, seeing the surprised expression on Demyx's face.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sora." He smiled, extending his hand to the slate haired boy in front of him.
"Zexion, likewise." He nodded his head, showing his interest.
The quiet type. Again, surprisingly, Sora did not see that coming. He laughed, walking out of the classroom with the two.
"So that Riku guy… I'm guessing you guys have had problems in the past?" Sora sighed, hoping that he had not been so mean. After all, it did fit the stereotype. Hot guy's ARE assholes.
"He dated our friend Tidus, and completely fucked him over. Broke his heart to pieces." Demyx explained, before Sora cut in.
"He's gay?!" Sora asked, with a little too much excitement in his voice.
"And apparently, so are you." Zexion replied flatly, with a small smirk pulling at his lips.
"U-Umm… I've dated boys… Mostly girls though! I'm not gay though…" Sora said, trying to make him self believe that as well.
"Not buying it Sora. If you are, you're in right company." Demyx smiled, before grabbing Sora's schedule from his hand.
"But I'm-"
"Bummer. You're on your own next class." Demyx handed the schedule back, pointing in the other direction. "You're all the way down there and to the left."
Sora sighed, pocketing the schedule before slinging his backpack over both shoulders. Demyx laughed lightly before pulling on Sora and Zexion's arm.
"Come on, we'll take you there."
"Quiet down now! I want you all to get into groups of two. Make sure you work well with this person. This person could cost you your whole final grade." The teacher smiled before passing out stacks of paper that looked like sheet music.
Roxas laid his head on the table, trying his hardest to make it through this Vocal Performance class. He almost managed to block out the sound and the chatter until a hand tapped on his shoulder.
"Roxas, let's work together." Kairi smiled and sat down, crossing her right leg over her left.
"But you barely know me… How do you know I won't fail you?" He said, half serious.
"And you don't know anybody BUT me. And I know you won't fail me." She smiled, taking the music from the teacher a little too excitedly.
"Yes! I love this song. We're going to sound so good!" She clapped her hands together before passing one of the copies over to Roxas.
"We've been planning this final weeks before you got here. Basically what we're doing, is doing a song study, and then performing it in front of anybody from school who comes to the Fine Arts Showcase the day before Christmas Break. It's so fun!" She smiled, knowing Roxas would have a problem with this.
"I don't know about that… I'm not sure if I'm staying with my current schedule. I don't really want to sing and dance this year. I wanted academic classes." He fought, knowing himself that he would die to feel that rush from being in front of a crowd.
"Come on Roxas. It'll be fun. And the song is an amazing love song. How fitting, no?" She smiled, sending a wink at Roxas, causing the blonde to turn away with a scowl.
Roxas picked up the music and read the title aloud, trying to sound unexcited about the whole thing. "'I'd Give It All For You?' from Songs for a New World." Roxas sighed.
"If you don't like your song, feel free to come speak to me. We'll try to work something out." The teacher smiled, before beginning to work with students one on one.
"Are you okay with this Roxas?" Kairi asked, almost in an understanding way.
"I just don't want to sing." He replied roughly, noticing the determination in Kairi's face. "Look… Don't take it personally… It's not you, or this school. It's h-"
"Your mom. Right?" She replied simply. "Don't get mad at Sora. He's an open book." Kairi could see the hurt on Roxas's face. She reached over, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to say I understand, because nobody can truly understand what somebody is going through… But I want to understand." She smiled, seeing his expression melt away to nothingness.
"I don't know what he told you, but my mom has nothing to do with this." Roxas replied, once again trying to convince himself.
"Roxas… I lost my dad a couple years back. Took my life, and everything that I had ever known right away from me… You know what I still had though?" Kairi smiled, rubbing her thumb against his shoulder. "My voice. I kept singing… And dancing, and doing the things I love because I wouldn't trade it for the world." She pulled her hand away.
"I'm not asking for you to open up to me, and I'm not asking you to change your mind. Just know, that even though you just met me, I'm here." She smiled, before standing up and making her way over to the teacher who immediately started playing their song on the piano.
Roxas looked at the words that floated across the page, holding a beautiful melody. Kairi had no idea what he had been through. What he put his family through. It wasn't what he had lost. It was what Sora, his aunt and uncle, and his father had lost. If he could even call him a father after this past month.
He put the music into his notebook, and placed the book into his backpack, letting the melody of the duet trance him into a sleep.
"Roxas, come sit with us." Roxas felt himself being led by the arm, towards a large round table all the way in the corner of the cafeteria. At the table, a lively bunch had assembled. The group of people that was talking, and laughing together, is a group of people you would never imagine liking each other. Roxas found a seat next to his brother, and Kairi. Immediately sensing a smile from the redheaded girl, Roxas set his gaze upon her, allowing himself to send a small, sensitive smile.
"Alright, so here's the run down." Demyx spoke up, standing up at the opposite end of the round table. "You've met Kairi, Axel, and OBVIOUSLY me. This is Zexion, and Namine." Demyx smiled triumphantly before sitting down. Roxas allowed himself to send a small wave towards the new "friends."
Sora looked over to Roxas, placing a sympathetic grin on his mouth, only to turn into a frown when Roxas completely disregarded it.
"So Rox. I got the teacher to give us a new song. You didn't look too interested in the selection. So she gave us 'You Don't Know'" Kairi smiled, slipping him a copy of sheet music. Roxas took one look at it, before picking it up and placing it into his bag.
"Kairi, this is a girl song. And besides, I don't think I'll be in that class much longer. I appreciate what you're doing, but you really have no fucking clue what's-"
"Roxas watch what you say. She's just trying to help." Sora intervened, making sure Roxas felt sorry for speaking to his new friend that way.
"Help with what Sora? I don't need help; I need my old life back. And I don't need any of you." Roxas stood up, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder, and walked through the cafeteria and out the door.
"What was that about?" Demyx looked over to Sora, not entirely sure why Roxas had stormed out. During the small fight, Demyx had been talking to Axel, Zexion, and Namine.
"Nothing… He's just having a hard time getting used to the school. He'll be fine, trust me." Sora defended, once again.
"Kairi, I'm sorry about that…" Sora pleaded, only to see Kairi smile and shake her head.
"Sora, it's not a problem. It's really okay." Kairi convinced, earning a exasperated smile from Sora.
"If you say so." Sora backed off, feeling the eyes of Demyx and Zexion on him.
"You're right Kairi. That isn't a problem. But Sora has a BIG problem." Demyx laughed, feeling a light punch from the slate-haired boy.
Kairi laughed, leaning over the table to feel more included in the conversation.
"Really? And what is this problem you speak of?" Kairi smiled, looking over to one thoroughly confused Sora.
"One gorgeous, rich bitch named Riku. Little Sora here has the hot's for him." Demyx laughed, seeing surprised expressions from all across the table.
"Demyx I do not!" Sora combated, trying to convince himself that he didn't find the silver-haired boy even slightly attractive.
"Mhhm. Keep telling yourself that. It's okay Sora, to each his own." Demyx sighed, as he set his focus on his boyfriend.
"Dem, where did Axel go?" Kairi looked across the table, noticing the empty seat next to Namine and Zexion.
"I didn't even notice him leave…" Demyx placed his hand on the back of his head and let out a small, nervous laugh.
"He left immediately after Roxas left." Namine spoke up, leaving her sketchbook for the first time the entire lunch period. There was a group understanding, before they went back to their lunch and conversations.
"Roxas, wait up!" Axel yelled down the hall, hoping to stop the blonde-haired boys rampage through the school. Seeing the boy stop at the end of the hall produced a wave of accomplishment over Axel, and he quickly jogged over to him.
"Can I help you?" Roxas stated dryly, not even bothering to look at the taller, older boy in front of him.
"Nah, I thought I could help you." Axel smiled brightly, laughing lightly at the hollow expression on Roxas's face.
What did Axel think he was doing with that smile? It had no effect on Roxas. Absolutely none. Well... Maybe a little.
"The last thing I need is a pity party. No offense, but I don't need any of your guys help. I made it this far by myself, I can make it the rest of the way." Roxas sighed, continuing walking only to watch Axel jump in front of him, stopping him from walking onto the terrace.
"I'm not saying you didn't make it this far. I'm saying that you could have made it here faster if you would have just accepted some help." Axel answered proudly, watching as Roxas's expression turned from that of angry to that of helpless.
"Hey, listen… Everybody needs a little help once in a while. But help doesn't show its face too often. The offers on the table Roxie." Axel began slowly walking away, knowing that Roxas would stop him because of his newly found pet name.
"Don't call me Roxie. And I honestly don't need help. What I need is to get the fuck off of this island. To have my life back." Roxas closed his eyes, realizing that he began opening up to Axel involuntarily. Axel only smiled, stopped dead in his tracks.
"For someone who doesn't want to talk, you sure let out a whole lot of yourself." Axel laughed as he turned around.
"Fuck you." Roxas began walking away once more, refusing to be made a joke.
"Calm down squirt, I'm just kidding." Axel sighed, stopping Roxas from leaving. "How about this. Let's ditch this shit. You talk about whatever you want. I won't say a word unless you want me to." Axel smiled, truly wanting to help Roxas.
Or is it he wanted to get close to Roxas?
Axel shook the thought out of his head, trying to be selfless for once in his life.
"It's my first day… I can't ditch school." Roxas replied flatly, however not completely opposed to the idea.
"Sure you can. Let's go. Coffee shop on the corner." Axel smiled walking past Roxas.
"But I'll get in trouble." Roxas stated simply, watching, as Axel seemed to not care. Roxas sighed, taking one last look towards the cafeteria before walking out of the door.
"Now, you can talk." Roxas set his cup of tea down, finally finished with everything on his mind. He looked up to Axel's gaze, seeing eyes full of empathy. He was truly surprised at Axel's skills, and also to the fact that he had in fact opened up to someone he met today.
And he did feel better.
"Well… First. I find it ironic that you won't even talk about anything of this to your brother, but you will to somebody that you just met." Axel smiled deviously, earning a betrayed look from the younger blonde-haired boy.
"No seriously… Thank you." Axel's smiled turned into a thankful grin. "You can't think that this is your fault. Just because they were driving to come see you, doesn't mean it's your fault. Anything could have happened." Axel finished, taking a sip out of his coffee.
"But it wouldn't have happened if I wouldn't have decided to start doing shows so far away from town." Roxas looked at his thumbs, trying his hardest to not look into Axel's eyes. He was extremely uncomfortable, and he knew that he would break down any second with the right amount of discomfort. "And it isn't even that... Look what I put my entire family through. My dad... Sora. It's too much to hold on my back. They wouldn't be going through this if I didn't have to do shows so far away."
"You're wrong squirt." Axel sighed, seeing a sharp glare from the other boy. "Sorry… Roxas." Axel smiled, watching the blonde's focus move back to his teacup. "You need to get back into the swing of things. It's what your mom would want you to do." Axel sighed easily, placing his coffee cup between his two hands, for warmth.
"You don't know what my mom would want. You don't." Roxas fought defiantly, noticing a common theme with everybody he has met so far.
"Why don't you audition for the musical coming up? I'm assistant directing it, so I'd say you have, well... a 100% chance of getting in." He cast a devilish smile towards the blonde-haired boy, secretly already knowing his answer.
But the answer never came. Axel looked across the table and stared at the younger boy. He could practically sense the war that was going on within him. He smiled lightly, thinking that he needed some encouragement.
"Kairi was telling me that you're in most of her classes. She said she could just tell how talented you are." Axel smiled, knowing quite well that this would create a rouse in the younger boy.
"Stop it. I'm getting my schedule changed." Roxas sipped his tea, feeling a small sting in his eyes. Why can't it just be easy? It was easy for Sora…
"Nonsense. For some reason, she actually likes you. Which doesn't happen a lot within the 'theatre world' here. Most of them are just plain annoying." Axel finished, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair.
"Well sorry, not interested in her." Roxas spoke, not necessarily thinking of what he said.
"I figured as much." Axel smiled deviously, sending a small wink to the boy across the table.
That smile...
"It's um... time for me to leave." Roxas stood up, throwing his coat on.
"Let me drive you home." Axel said, standing up and slipping his coat on.
Roxas threw his messenger bag over his shoulder and shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'd rather walk."
"Rox, it's no big dea-"
"Bye Axel." Roxas finished, walking out the door and down the road. He didn't bother turning around to see if he was being followed. He just continued down the same cold windy road.
Reviews, critiques, comments? It still has a lot of work, and I WILL be editing it whenever I have more chapters up. I've been worried about the relationships between characters, and I feel that I'm making improvements with Roxas and Axel... I have a lot of work for Demyx, but who knows. Maybe I'll get it... someday. You guys are the best, thank you ~
Aiden.