A/N: Finally... I got chapter 2 up. Sorry it's been taking so long. Writer's block is annoying as all hell, not to mention I also wanted to update on my other fanfic, The Rainy Days. I hope you guys like this fanfic... don't forget to R&R~
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the likes.

The inflicting tone of Axel's voice scared the younger male. Steam started rising from slick leather and dampened spikes. An eyebrow quirked as Demyx fiddled with his sleeves, desperate to find an acceptable answer. The only problem was, there really was no good answer to tell Axel. It was as simple as the memory of jealousy the projected on the sitar player's face.

"Well?"

Demyx shook his head in defeat. There was nothing in his mind that could form to tell Axel why he wanted the fire user away from Roxas. Strangely… unexplainable. Shaking his head, Axel laughed sarcastically.

"Great, just great Demyx."

Turning around, the pyro started walking away, waving his hand dismissively. Scowling, the Nocturne watched as Axel left, hateful tears threatening to overtake his eyes. Oh how he hated Roxas. Hated, hated, hated him! The thirteenth member should never have come. If he didn't… Demyx and Axel wouldn't have this problem. Axel wasn't there to comfort him. He wasn't there for warmth, for the embraces and friendly laughs. It was all so hollow now. So hollow. That past will never resurface.

"…hate you, Axel."

A fuming pyro turned as he heard the childish voice filled with tears and fake anger.

"I hate you so much!"

Before Axel had a chance to retaliate, the Nocturne had already turned and taken off down the white hall. An annoyed sigh came from the older male as he muttered angrily. Throwing his hands in the air, he shook his head involuntarily.

"Fine, just fine!" he yelled back.

The only thing that answered him was the slamming of a distant door. To help cure the anger, Axel found himself in front of the door marked "XIII". Of course, Roxas had to be out on a mission at the time, so the pyro found himself sitting on the floor leaning against the door. It couldn't be a long wait, could it? Of course not. The mission was simple; at least that's what Saix told him earlier. Perhaps they could go out for sea salt ice cream, Roxas always liked to do that. A smile spread over Axel's face as he thought about hanging out with Roxas. It was exciting.

On the other hand, it was hell for Demyx. The sitar user spent his time mainly in the grey room, playing his sitar. It was unlike Demyx to want to be alone, but for now, the depressed Nocturne only enjoyed the presence of his sitar and the calming music it made. Well, calming for awhile until deranged and angry notes played, sending tidal waves slamming against the far walls. Tears fell freely from sea-blue eyes. It was so frustrating.

"That's enough, Nine."

Demyx quickly wiped tears away as Zexion sauntered into the room. The placid boy traipsed through the remaining, stubborn puddles until the slate haired boy too a seat next to the dirty blonde.

"Flooding two rooms in one day is unusual for you, Nine."

The Nocturne shook his head silently, staring down at the blue instrument he played. Zexion stared at him expectantly, eyebrows raised in miniscule, if not nonexistent, care. Demyx opened his mouth to say something, but quickly covered it with a gloved hand as a sob choked his throat. Man, it was hard being depressed. The Schemer simply waited with the same stoic expression, just waiting for the other to finish. It wasn't everyday that Zexion wanted to help anyone without profit, but he was feeling particularly helpful. Luckily for Demyx, the sobs quieted down as quickly as they had come. It left Demyx sniffling with a runny nose and watering eyes.

"It's Eight, isn't it?"

Demyx could only nod his head. Had it been that obvious? For the Nocturne, most things were pretty hard to figure out, but for the Schemer, it made perfect sense. Aside from the fact they weren't supposed to have emotions, the memories of them were still mildly strong for some of the members.

"Do you… love him?"

Axel smiled when he reached the top of the clock tower. Roxas was already there, legs dangling off the side. Thoughts of scaring the blonde crossed his mind, but it would be hard since the pyro was already carrying three sea salt ice creams.

"Xion not here yet?"

The pyro's voice caused the other to jump involuntarily. Looks like Axel got his scare anyway.

"H-huh? Oh, Xion had to leave early, y'know, got stuck with a double mission."

Inwardly, Axel grinned widely, but on the outside, he frowned, handing one of the melting ice creams to Roxas.

"That's too bad, we'll have to catch her tomorrow. Got it memorized?"

Roxas groaned lightly. Why did Axel always say that phrase? It gets so annoying after awhile. Instead, the blonde Keyblade wielder only shook his head and laughed, taking a bite out of his blue ice cream. Axel took his respective seat next to Roxas, and they enjoyed the silence that followed. It was a peaceful silence, aside from the light crunching of ice cream and the occasional train whistle in the distance. Roxas stared down the dizzying height of the clock tower. It was eating at him slowly, so slowly. He didn't think he would get to this, he thought that it might be for the better though. Axel had been getting on his nerves lately and all, and although Roxas had enjoyed the pyro's presence in the past, it just didn't feel the same anymore.

"Axel?"

The chakram wielder lifted his head from his ice cream, quirking a single red eyebrow.

"I don't want to meet on the clock tower anymore."

The sentence halted Axel's happiness in a nonexistent heartbeat. Nearly choking on the remains of his ice cream, Axel attempted to find an explanation.

"O-okay! We could meet somewhere else. Agrabah, Neverland…"

Axel babbled frantically, trying to figure out why Roxas would suddenly come up with such an idea.

"No Axel, I just don't want to be with you anymore."

The hollow look in Roxas' eyes proved he was utterly serious. The pyro was crushed, staring at the blonde with unbelieving eyes. Axel laughed nervously, hoping, just hoping Roxas was kidding. When the boy didn't laugh and instead got up quietly, Axel's laugh died easily in his throat.

"Roxas-"

"Goodbye, Axel."

A portal was summoned, but only one certain blonde stepped through, leaving the redhead confused and broken. Why was Roxas acting that way? Did the pyro do something wrong? He wasn't entirely sure. Frowning at himself, Axel let out a frustrated yell, throwing fire that licked angrily at the twilight air. Even more angrily, he summoned his own portal that led him to familiar white-washed hallways. Demyx had just returned from his time in the Grey Room, only to be brushed aside by a fuming pyro. A hurt expression crossed the childish face as a glare was sent his way.

"Watch it."

Flames licked at shoes, scorching the nearby ground and walls. The Nocturne yelped involuntarily, jumping away from the heat. Tilting his head, the sitar player wanted to follow Axel, figure out what was wrong. A heavy slamming of a door announced that the pyro had intent on staying in solitude, at least until he calmed down. Demyx found himself suspiciously walking down the hall toward his room, hoping that in his rage, Axel had left his bathroom door unlocked. Quietly closing his bedroom door, Demyx snuck over to the bathroom, walking to the door on the other side leading to the pyro's room. The knob turned slowly until it clicked, and Demyx froze, praying Axel didn't hear. Silence answered that simple question, or perhaps the pyro chose to ignore it. Steadily pushing the door open, the Nocturne poked his head through the doorway. Quickly scanning the room, Demyx couldn't find Axel until he spotted a lump in black and maroon coloured sheets.

"A-axel?"

A grunt came as the reply, along with the shifting of sheets on the bed. Sheepishly, Demyx inched his way into the flame and fire oriented room, making his journey toward the checkered bed.

"Axel… what's wrong?"

Another grunt was heard and glaring green eyes appeared out from underneath blankets. Jumping back in surprise, Demyx audibly gulped, looking around nervously. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. Taking a deep breath, the Nocturne stood his ground, staring bravely at the fiery lump that was supposed to be his best friend. The staring contest was not as brief as Demyx would've liked, but it ended with yet another grunt. The pyro turned over stubbornly, keep up with his quiet streak. Demyx sat at the base of the bed, only waiting briefly until Axel muttered something, muffled by the sheets. The Nocturne has to crane his neck to hear it.

"…get out."

Shaking his head bravely, Demyx refused to move. A hand caught his wrist and sizzling soon followed. A heated sensation soon covered Demyx's wrist until it burned, and it yelped in pain.

"A-axel! Th-that hurts!"

The heat slowly receded, and the grip loosened considerably. Snatching his hand back, Demyx pulled his sleeve back to check the damage. A red mark screamed in anger up at Demyx as he tapped it experimentally, hissing at the flowering pain.

"I said get out, Demyx."

Again, tears threatened at the back of the sitar player's eyes. Sighing, he got up, heading to the bathroom. Looking back, he shook his head sadly.

"I wish you would tell me."

As the door closed, Axel laughed humorlessly. Like that child would ever understand anything like this. Sitting up, the pyro stared listlessly at the stark white of his ceiling. Frowning at it, he sent a wild torrent of flames, singing the white into tempered brown, grey, and black. White reminded him of Roxas. The sweet, smiling, innocent Roxas that he always loved to hang out with, to spend endless days with. That was all gone now, reduced to dry, cold ashes that blew away with the passing breeze. Why did it have to hurt so much when he didn't have a heart? Getting out of his bed, he portaled away to the Hall of Empty Melodies. He knew Demyx liked coming here, for the white hall's acoustics were amazing. Taking a deep breath, Axel did something he normally didn't do: he picked up a dusty electric guitar, wiping it off some before strumming an untuned note. Cursing under his breath, Axel took the impatient time to tune the guitar. The planks and twangs sounded annoyingly throughout the room. Once the guitar was tuned, a loud, melodious chord echoed in the hall. A small grin made its way to his face as the anger receded with the fading chord. Demyx wasn't the only one who played music. Raging notes soon played angrily as flamed emerged from fretful hands and fingers. Emerald eyes remained closed as the music played, hard rock echoing throughout the hall, eagerly burning through the air as notes amplified. Breathing became ragged as note after note got more and more energetic. The world around the flame-haired male melted away into nothing as only the player and the music existed. Rapid, angry notes turned sorrowful with time. Tears refused to roll down, only managing to turn into steam on heated cheeks. In a fit of angered depression, Axel threw the guitar out into the stands. It crashed loudly, obnoxiously, as the pyro threw curse after curse after it, lashing fire into unsuspecting air. Once bright emerald eyes have lost their luster, only to portray a muted version of what they once were. Hearing a portal open, Axel scowled.

"Get out of here, Demyx!"

"Throwing guitars across the room is unproductive… Lea."

Emerald eyes widened briefly before returning to their faded hue, turning to gaze into bright yellow.

"Isa… what do you want?" the pyro questioned dully.

"A second chance."

A skeptical glance was thrown at the blunette, but Saix stood firm, a single eyebrow raised in question to the skeptical glance. Axel shook his head, swearing he had to have heard otherwise. There had to be some ulterior motive the Berserker had to want a second chance. Axel smirked, although the luster never returned to his eyes. Saix could only blink in reply. Letting out a humorless laugh, the pyro clapped the man on the shoulder, only to find himself in a very compromising headlock. Jolting, the eighth member struggled against the seventh. Axel cringed as a hissing voice was set right next to his ear.

"But don't forget Lea, I own you and I always will."

With that, Saix tossed a surprised Axel back onto the stage and stepped back into a Dark Portal, grinning ferally as he disappeared.