Author's Note: Thanks for all the Reviews, Alerts and Favourites! ^^ Here's the second chapter. It's a little bit of a filler, and it's mildly pointless, sorry. But the next chapter has a lot of dramaa... This story is slowly (read; rapidly) becoming more and more different from Shakespeare. I should just say "It's a bit like Much Ado", not "Loosely based on Much Ado". lol...?

R & R, Enjoy,
V. Plum.

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Act I, Scene II

By the time Roxas got up the next day, the sky was already a clear azure blue. Thanks to Sora's hyperactivity, and Roxas' slight insomnia, he'd fallen asleep at around 4am. As if things couldn't get any worse, Roxas now had to endure a whole weekend with the same hyperactive Sora, and a certain redhead, who would probably annoy him for the entire stay. Roxas groaned, praying for some kind of far-fetched economical crisis to occur that would force Leon, as well as Axel and Riku to leave abruptly, thus ending all pain in Roxas' life.

Roxas rolled over wearily, his eyes still blurry with sleep. But the light burned his retinas, making it impossible to fall asleep again. Cursing, Roxas swung his legs off the bed, got up clad in his grey and white pyjamas and headed to his door, stumbling blearily.

He opened the door and came face to face with an equally half a sleep Axel, who had just opened the door of his own room on the other side of the hall. He was shirtless with a pair of low riding black pyjama bottoms. Roxas blinked in surprise, forcing down a blush. Axel smirked and leaned on his bedroom doorframe casually. He crossed his arms and smirked lightly.

"What a lovely way to start the day," he said breezily.

"Only if you like waking up to beatings, you crazy masochist." Roxas snorted and rolled his eyes before slamming his bedroom door shut behind him and heading to the bathroom quickly, his head down to hide his blush.

"Good morning Axel, did you sleep well?" Axel teased in a high voice that was presumably meant to be Roxas, "Is that too much to ask?". Roxas spun on his heel, flipped Axel off smoothly, and spun back towards the bathroom, slamming the second door in one minute. He could hear Axel's laugh through the door, which only made him scowl even more.

-x-

"So I was thinking of staying a little longer this time round, if that's okay with you…?" Leon said offhandedly as Roxas came downstairs for breakfast (well, lunch, really). Everyone looked as tired as he felt, well, except for Sora, but he hardly ever looked tired.

"No problem." Cloud replied as Roxas came to the table and took a seat next to Riku.

"About time sleeping beauty." Sora grinned. Everyone was sitting at the table as well. Cloud placed lunch down on the table. DIY tacos again? Roxas rolled his eyes. Sora probably requested it... again.

"A beauty needs his sleep." Roxas muttered as he began filling his taco with lettuce and meat. There was a short silence before Sora piped up.

"So, today we're going to go to the mall, meet up with the others, maybe see a movie… you know, we'll make it up as we go along. Oh! And you can invite Hayner and stuff if you want," Sora grinned briefly before making a mess of his taco as he bit it.

"Sounds good," Only it doesn't, because Hayner has Struggle Practice, and Olette and Pence are probably going to go out together… Roxas added in his mind. He made a disgusted face when he looked at Sora's disgusting plate.

"Gotta buy some stuff for my Halloween costume and stuff too." Sora jumped in his seat excitedly with a wicked look in his eyes. Every year Sora would put an enormous effort into his costume and this year was no different. After all, the host of one of the biggest Halloween parties in Twilight Town had to be the best dressed, right?

"Sounds good," Roxas repeated with a little more enthusiasm in his tone. He liked Halloween. The parties were fun… depending on how much alcohol there was. And he had to admit; a party wasn't a party without Axel. Of course he'd never say that out loud.

"Why so glum, Rox?" Axel teased. Roxas was too lazy to come up with something witty to shoot back.

"One—your face makes me glum, and two—you have meat sauce on your shirt." Roxas said clearly and frankly in a bored tone. Sora laughed briefly. Axel pouted slightly looking a little embarrassed. He wiped his shirt, only to find that there wasn't any sauce on his top.

"Liar." He muttered under his breath.

"So, Roxas. I was thinking maybe our outfits could match for the party?" Sora suggested. Roxas smiled weakly. That only meant less work for him because Sora would have to make Roxas' costume. Sora was oddly good at making costumes anyway.

"Sure," Roxas poked his taco, no longer hungry. Despite having Halloween fast approaching, he still couldn't wait for all of this to be over.

-x-

Twilight Town only had one mall (but to give it some credit, there were shops located in random spots all over the town), and it wasn't all that big, but neither was the population, so it was never too busy, except Sundays of course.

The busiest shop in the mall would probably be Starbucks. The people of Twilight Town had always loved their caffeine, no matter how shit the Starbucks coffee tasted. Every single person who lived in the town had had at least one Starbucks coffee, and every single person who lived in the town knew Zexion. After all, he had started working at Starbucks one week after it opened, and still worked there to this day. His appearance was hard to forget, after all. Slate blue hair was uncommon, and it was styled in a pretty emo way. Oh, and he was rather fond of eyeliner or 'guyliner.' That and he always said the same thing to the customers, in the same monotonous voice.

"Hi, what would you like?"

"Uhh, how about…? Or maybe…?" Zexion suppressed a groan. He hated the customers that didn't decide before they went to the counter, he was glad business was pretty slow today. Actually, he hated his job, period. He didn't even drink coffee, it was way to strong, especially the smell. Zexion was more of a tea person. He just needed a job to pay for half his university fees.

"Well, I feel like something sweet, but my dentist just filled two cavities a week ago, so…uh…maybe not…" Zexion tapped his foot impatiently behind the counter. If this woman had just been to the dentist's, then she really shouldn't be drinking any coffee at all, but whatever, Zexion didn't care, it wasn't his teeth, after all.

"Oh, I'll just get a cappucci...—no, a latte." She smiled weakly.

"A latte?" Zexion asked politely, looking down at the till, his fingers tapping on the side of it with mild annoyance.

"Uh, yes please, wait, no! Maybe a cappuccino, what do you think, Zexio—"

"For FUCK's sake! Decide! Please!"A voice shouted from behind the current customer. Zexion didn't have to look up to see who it was. He knew the voice as if it were his own. He smirked the smallest of smirks.

"Okay, okay!" She whipped around and glared at the person behind her before turning back, "Latte, then. No! …Yes. A small latte, take away, thank you."

"Are you sure?" Zexion asked in the same polite tone, wanting to rile the impatient customer up a little. The impatient customer groaned.

"Just give me the damn latte before I change my mind again." The customer replied quickly with a blush and passed Zexion the munny and stepped aside to let the next person through.

"God, about time woman." The man who had shouted out stepped forward cockily. Zexion controlled his facial expression carefully before saying dully,

"Hi, what would you like?" Zexion made sure to keep his head down and pretend he didn't know the customer.

"You." He replied flirtatiously, leaning over the counter. Zexion snorted and finally looked up. Axel hadn't even called to say he was back in town…

"Sorry, I'm gay." Zexion stated bluntly, his eyes laughing. The indecisive woman from before widened her eyes and looked away in disgust… and a little disappointment.

Twilight Town was just so narrow-minded. Lucky Zexion didn't care.

"Oh good, I am too." Axel replied with a grin. If possible, the woman looked even more repulsed. Zexion snorted again, fighting down a laugh.

God he missed Axel's stupid jokes.

"Who's coming?" Zexion asked. Axel jerked his thumb back to a table where Sora, Riku and Roxas sat, chatting away animatedly.

"Also, Dem, Kairi and Namine will be here soon. Usuals for everyone," Zexion dialled everyone's favourites into the till, "When does your shift end?" Axel asked. He watched the indecisive woman take her latte and leave. Axel flipped her off as she exited the coffee shop.

"I get off in half an hour. Are you paying for them all?" Zexion asked sceptically.

"Yup."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, you're loaded."

"Yup." Axel briefly inspected his nails casually. He slid his munny across the counter, and Zexion slid the change back.

"I'll bring it over." Zexion stated dismissively. Axel nodded.

"See ya, sexy," Axel winked and left.

"AXEL FIRAGA! Don't you dare hit on my boyfriend!" Demyx shouted from the door, trust Demyx to cause a seen at the sight of Axel. Behind him stood Kairi and Namine, giggling. Zexion rolled his eyes.

This was going to be a long day.

-x-

"Eww, Roxas, you've grown again!" Sora moaned dramatically, pulling his spikes mournfully. Riku laughed.

"'Eww'? What do you mean 'eww'? Your little cousin is growing up!" Riku teased. The three of them were in Sora's room, supposedly helping him with his Halloween costumes, but really, Roxas and Riku were just watching Sora stress out. It was very entertaining. There were pieces of black and orange fabric everywhere, and Sora's desk was littered with design ideas.

"'Eww' because now he's nearly as tall as me, and I have to take Roxas' measurements again, and then resize all the patterns for Roxas' costume!" Sora flailed his arms, his eyes darting around, looking for something, "I only have three days left! Where's the tape measure?"

"I've only grown, like, a centimetre. It shouldn't matter." Roxas muttered. Sora overheard him and shot a glare that said, 'shut up, you know nothing about making clothes'. Pfft, perfectionist.

"Why didn't you check Roxas' measurements before you started making his costume? And don't worry; you'll have it done in no time. Oh, and the tape measure is around your neck." Riku laughed. Riku and Roxas lounged on Sora's bed, amused but slightly bored. Sora pulled the tape measure off his neck and pushed Roxas to the doorframe of his room. Sora pulled out a pencil from behind his ear and grabbed a ruler from his cluttered desk.

"Back straight against the doorframe. I'm gonna do this the lazy way." Sora ordered. Roxas did as he was told. Sora pressed Roxas' hair down with the ruler before making marks on the doorframe; one at the top of his head, one at his hips and one just pass his ankles.

"That should do for now." Sora pushed Roxas back to Riku again.

"Why so serious?" Roxas asked Riku. He suddenly looked very pensive as opposed the teasing nature he'd been in moments beforehand. Riku turned and stared at Roxas, still thinking. Roxas blinked back. Suddenly, as though light had shone down onto whatever he was contemplating, Riku smirked and leaned back in a more relaxed and confident way.

"So," Riku grinned almost devilishly, "I caught you staring at Axel the other day…" Roxas stiffened slightly. The other day when they had all gone to Dangerfield, and Axel had tried on a pair of… particularly good looking… ripped skinny jeans with chains. Very… particularly good looking. They were like Leon's old S&M style jeans, but tighter. Roxas couldn't help but stare, but he didn't think anyone would have noticed. Roxas pulled together a quick excuse. Sora turned to Roxas, curious about his reaction to Riku's words.

"Y-yeah, he's a bit of a freak show, isn't he?" Roxas cursed himself. That wasn't smooth at all.

"A freak show in hot tight jeans." Riku fought down a laugh. Roxas blushed.

"What? So what? What are you implying?" Roxas asked in a frustrated tone, but it sounded more fast and defensive than frustrated. A look of sudden realisation dawned on Sora's face. Oh no…

"You. Like. Him!" Sora accused, grinning and pushing Roxas' costume patterns aside for the moment.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! No, I don't." Roxas denied.

"No, no, I see it too Riku!" Sora flailed his arms a little, "He likes Axel!"

"No I don't!" Roxas repeated.

"Why not?" Riku asked quickly. Roxas' eyebrow rose at Riku. So this was his plan…

"It's not that he's ugly," Roxas said quickly but carefully, "He's just a stupid cocky player, and he'd probably drop me as soon as he was sick of me. He's too arrorgant." Roxas finished, looking away embarrassedly. Sora grinned.

"So by 'it's not that he's ugly' … you mean…?"

"…You think he's attractive." Riku finished for Sora.

"I…!" Roxas narrowed his eyes with a look of pure hatred, "……you two are like gossiping mothers."

"You don't deny it!" Sora shouted out in a sing-song fashion. Roxas stood up abruptly; this conversation had suddenly taken a turn for the worse thanks to Riku.

"Axel hates me anyway, and I hate him." Roxas stated dismissively, but with not nearly enough conviction needed for such powerful words. His voice had cracked a little too. Damn it, hanging out with Riku and Sora is so emotionally tiring. Roxas sighed.

"Sure, you hate him." Riku said disbelievingly.

"Whatever. Whether I like him or not, it doesn't change the fact that he's a complete bastard. You guys are assholes." Roxas stormed out of the room.

"Awh, Roxie! Don't be like that! We're sorry!" Sora whined, feeling more than a little guilty.

Downstairs, Roxas bumped into Axel, who blinked in surprise. Roxas glared viciously.

"You're a fucking FREAK SHOW!" He insulted, his voice dripping with acid, before storming out of the house and slamming the front door behind him, leaving a very confused Axel.

…Freak show?

-x-

The view was dark, lit by incandescent neon colours of car headlights and streetlights, and a little further in the distance, there was a wide expanse of the ocean. There were no stars in the sky since the bright lights of Hollow Bastion washed them out. The moon was hidden behind a wispy dark cloud; either that or it was blocked by one of the skyscrapers that reached up to the sky.

In one of the highest and classiest apartment complexes' penthouse, stood a man with shoulder length silver hair. His green-blue eyes stared down at Hollow Bastion with hatred, but his mouth was curled in a twisted smirk. His hands ran along the top of a grand piano that sat in perfect view from the huge wall sized windows.

"We found Riku." The silver haired man turned his sinister smirk widening. A taller man with long mid-back length silver hair stood in the lobby of the penthouse next to a large strongly built man with equally silver hair. His hair was spiked though. The strong man had a sadistic grin on his face, unlike the serious but nonchalant expression on the taller man.

"Where is he…?" The man at the window asked calmly, looking down at the grand piano's ivory keys.

"He went to Twilight Town again. Probably staying with our 'brother'." The strong man's grin widened.

"Is Riku happy?" The man at the window said just as calmly, stroking the keys almost lovingly.

"Very." The serious man quipped clearly. The man at the piano smirked again; there was a violent air to his smirk.

"Oh… That won't do… that won't do…" He played a note on the piano, which echoed through the penthouse. It was happy but empty, "If we can't be happy, he can't be happy. He knows that…"

The man at the piano looked up at the other two men, his face unreadable.

"Yazoo, Loz, will you help me? Will you help me take away Riku's happiness? Mother will not allow it, not until we find her…"

Yazoo's serious expression became slightly smug, a small smirk played on his lips. Loz flexed his large muscled arm and grinned sadistically.

"Of course," Yazoo stated monotonously, "… Kadaj."

Kadaj slipped his finger under the groove on the end of same key that he had played earlier. With casual force, he ripped the key off the piano with a loud crack. He brought it to his lips and licked it, before crushing it in his hand easily.

"Good."

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Gawrsh, I feel so bad for the piano, ah hyuk, hyuk!