My heart was pounding, but in my stomach.

I remember the details of the day, forever imprinted into my mind as I lay with my limbs splayed, shuddering. The leaves were deathly beautiful; red, gold, flaming orange. Nature was alive with color, while inside, my body seemed to be dying.

My breath was coming in odd rasps, scaring me. And then, suddenly, my breath wasn't there at all.

It was like drowning. Exactly like drowning.

I'd heard the screams when I'd collapsed, but now they were fading to nothing. My beautiful autumn world was darkening around me.

One last time, I felt my heart beat uneven, then everything disappeared.

And in that one moment, my life changed.

Forever.

-Kairi-

"Where are we going?"

From the second I'd found myself in Axel's car, everything about me that made me loyal to my father had vanished. All those promises, "I will never, ever talk to strangers," were simply ghosts of my past. I'd discovered a new person inside of myself; stronger, braver, more daring and devilish, and I welcomed her with an open mind. The Kairi I'd never bothered to know, who I'd shut out upon request, well, I liked her an awful lot.

I felt free, unchained; happy.

Axel regarded me with a smug look on his face, but only briefly, as we'd made our way onto the freeway, going at the very least seventy-five miles-per-hour. "You'll find out, doll. Just have some patience. I promise I'll make it worth your while."

And I believed him. I loved the way he called me doll, too. It made me feel wanted. Not how Hayner had made me feel, or Sora, or anyone else from my past. It was new. A new chapter in the story of my life that had become so dull and boring. "Alright," I replied, smiling.

The radio was set to a rock station. Nostalgic, it calmed me, but was exciting all the same.

We drove for a while before finding ourselves in a city that was familiar to me; Traverse, where my friends and I would often scheme shopping trips on the weeknights after school, looking for new outfits to color ourselves in. Traverse was huge, with a three-story shopping mall, a water park, and every restaurant you could think of, and then some. With the windows rolled down, I could smell the ocean.

"Do you live here?" I asked, hoping the answer would be affirmative. Axel nodded. "Wow, lucky!"

He laughed. "Don't get bored too often. Can definitely find almost everything I need here." We'd missed rush hour, but the streets were still fairly busy, lined with cars of every make and model. The sky was just beginning to fade into an orange-purple. I silently wondered to myself whether my father would miss me or not, but let it go. He'd probably assume I'd gone out with a girlfriend, and head out to enjoy the night life as well.

It took a while, but eventually we pulled into the parking lot of an average-sized apartment complex. The siding was white. It was two-story, adorned with flowers, bushes and vines, making it look very homey. It didn't appear at all unattended to. The owners obviously cared a lot about their tenants living quarters, and kept it looking trimmed.

Axel lived on the second floor, in apartment 204.

"Home sweet home," He said, unlocking the door and opening it for me, motioning me forward. I stepped into a dining room area, kitchen with an open counter right alongside. From there, I could see the living room, and the balcony across. It wasn't untidy, but it wasn't quite as pristine as I liked my own living quarters. Well, whatever. It would do on my night of adventure.

Otherwise, it looked pretty normal for some crazy-creeper guy with tattoos below his eyes. Props to him.

As if reading my mind, he began chatting. "Doesn't suit me, does it?" To be honest, I didn't know Axel well enough yet to decide whether or not this apartment suited him. In my opinion, it wasn't bad.

"Not sure yet," I replied, making my way through the kitchen to plop on the big, plushy orange couch in the living room. I watched a smirk cross his face.

"I enjoy the 'yet' in that sentence."

Would I really hang out with Axel beyond tonight? Who knew? Certainly not me, but I had to be honest with myself; honest enough to say that I had a very forboding feeling about the whole event, that I might just be dying to return here on some night when my day had not gone well enough. Those nights when I wished I had more than crying myself to sleep, I would summon this place in my memory and return here, just maybe.

I crossed my legs. Wearing a skirt, I didn't need Axel sneaking a peak, or getting any funny ideas. I smiled at him. "So... What are we doing here?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I figured, since we're friends now, I should probably show you where I live. Maybe someday, you can do the same." I hoped I didn't look too shocked by that statement. Friends? Since when?

I guess you shouldn't just get into some random person's car and assume nothing is going to come of that. That's a rarity.

"Maybe." I kept my gaze on him.

Axel was still standing in the doorway. He stretched, looking very relaxed at the stranger that was me in his house, and let out a contented sigh. "Do you drink?" What a loaded question for a seventeen-year-old girl.

My answer probably came as no surprise. "You know it."

"Good, good," He said, heading to the fridge. He returned with two bottles of beer, the light kind, which I was used to. I never could manage to get used to the ice stuff. It knocked me on my ass way too quickly, and I had too many memories I'd never get back from black outs at holiday parties with classmates. "Hope this is acceptable."

I smiled. I tried to open my bottle, unsuccessfully. Seeing this, Axel snatched it from my hands and easily twisted the top off for me, giving a smug smile as he did so. He handed it back to me, and I took an awfully large swig. "Slow down," he laughed.

"Can't," I replied. "I came out here to forget what happened today. I'm going to make the best of it." And with that, I took another large gulp.

He nodded. "Cheers to that." We clanked our bottles together, toasting a new friendship that I was still slightly unsure about. What I was sure about, was that I'd gotten out of certain-to-be-boring Twlight for the evening, and found myself in Traverse, the city that never sleeps. I had alcohol, a nicely furnished apartment, and a whole new world to explore, almost all to myself. I was elated.

Bring on the night.

"So your day was bad because of your ex... Tell me about him." Alcohol makes you open your mouth real wide. Sober, you'd never consider spilling secrets, especially to a stranger, and you'd never let them in. But alcohol... It does funny things to your judgement. I wasn't even drunk yet, but oh-so-willing to chat about Hayner. Not that I still had a thing for him, (I didn't) but maybe I wasn't completely past a stint with a man I'd thought I was in love with.

I literally chugged the rest of my beer. I'd need a good dose to help pry whatever feelings seemed to be dying (yet clearly burning) within me, out. "Yeah. Hayner." I contemplaited going to the fridge for another drink, but thought it rude. "I uh..." My eyes were directed on Axel. "Another beer?"

"Of courrrrse!" He almost sang, dashing to the fridge. I was beginning to like Axel a lot. He was very at ease, very devil-may-care, very my type. He just needed a shower. He returned quickly, popping the cover off before handing the beer to me. "Anything for a night like this."

A night like this? I almost thought twice about what he could mean. But I didn't.

I took another large swig. "Hayner." Axel sat down next to me, almost uncomfortably close, and yet it didn't seem to bother me. "We dated for like... Two years. And it was great for a long time. Really great. But there was a time when we broke up in the middle of it... For like a week. And I lost my virginity to someone else." I briefly remembered one of my hookups with Sora. "He had an issue with that. We got back together and I thought things would be okay... But they weren't."

"Lemme guess," Axel intervened, a knowing look on his face. His voice turned whiney, mocking. "I wasn't your first! Ahh! Oh no! Lemme go cry about it over here!"

I nodded. "Exactly that. But I broke up with him because he was afraid to have sex... I couldn't deal with it. I was ready." I thought about what I'd said for a minute, then corrected myself. "Actually, he broke up with me because he said I was 'moving too fast.' So I moved on. Then he wanted me back. By then, it was too late I guess."

"He should've listened then. It's his own fault."

As bad as I still did feel about the whole Hayner and Sora thing, Axel's words comforted me. Maybe more than they should have. Enough to make me believe that I had been right in what I'd done. They do say that everything happens for a reason. My running away and losing my v-card to Sora may have just been the push I'd needed to eventually see that Hayner was really not the right person for me. Maybe.

Axel finished his own beer and set it on the coffee table. Then turned to me.

"Do you smoke?"

No.

I nodded. I'd smoked before, generally unsuccessfully. Usually I coughed up a lung in the process, but I'd fake it for him at this point. Fake it for him at this point, haha.

"I'm about ready for a cigarette." He pulled a pack from his pocket, along with a lighter, and proceeded to stand up, heading towards the porch. I pushed myself from the ground, beer still in hand. I followed.

He handed me one when we got outside, shutting the screen door behind us. Even lit it for me, too.

I inhaled, for once getting it down without a coughing fit. I was surprised by how relieving it felt for nicotine to fill my lungs, and pointedly I worried that I would get easily addicted. I didn't need yellow teeth, nails and bad breath for the rest of my life.

I began to realize that the entire night we'd only been talking about me.

"Axel," I started, taking another drag. This one burned the back of my throat a little, almost made me cough. "What's your story?"

He shrugged. "I work at a factory during the week on second shift, but right now I'm laid off. Parents live here in town. Don't bother me much. Had several girlfriends, one of them crazy like your ex. Try to avoid her, but not always possible. Sometimes things get heavy. Other than that, just living life, you know?"

I did know. I was trying to live my life right now too. Wasn't that what tonight was all about?

"I see," I said, not questioning a word he'd just spoken. Why bother? Would I know him after tonight? I wasn't sure.

He finished his cigarette long before I did, taking huge drags and exhaling. Possibly from smoking pot previously, although I wasn't sure. I smoked my cigarette slowly, actually enjoying it, for once, and when I was finished, I mirrored him and chucked it off the balcony.

"More beer?" He asked. I nodded. Of course.

We entered back into the living room and sat next to each other on the couch again, this time slightly closer. And with two beers each. It was funny, but it didn't worry me. I generally was peeved by guys sitting almost on top of me, but with Axel, I guess I was just trying to enjoy my evening away from the usual life. I wanted to forget everything. But to forget everything...

You have to confess everything, first.

One thing I should mention about drinking: It's almost certain to cloud your judgement if you have too much of it. That was exactly my problem; too much, too fast, and not a care in the world, unwilling to stop.

I spilled my heart out to a man I'd never met before in my life. I ignored my phone when I saw it was my father, ignored the voicemail icon that popped up after the 'missed call' screen. I ignored the fact that it was getting close to ten PM, I was an hour away from home, and I had school the following morning.

I went with it when Axel pulled the two white pills from a pocket somewhere. I popped one in my mouth with no second thoughts, no regards, no anything.

And I kept on the alcohol.

"Slow down," Axel eventually said, reaching for the beer in my hand. I shifted away, unwillingly. "You're going to be sick, doll. I don't want you to get sick." I was so drunk already, and whatever that pill was, it definitely wasn't helping me keep my balance. I didn't know how I could possibly convince Axel I would be okay. Hell, I wasn't even sure myself if I was going to be okay.

I felt sleepy, fading away slowly, comfortably. It was like being on a cloud. Suddenly, rightside-up was upside-down, and my beer was the wrong way, spilling all over me.

"Oh Jesus," I heard Axel say, although there was no anger in his tone. It surprised me, even in my dizzy state of mind. I was losing consciousness. "Come on." I felt him pull me from the couch, supporting me. If I remember correctly, it was slightly awkward, him being at least a foot or two taller than me, but I let him lead me to the bathroom.

He sat me down on the toilet, and went to get a damp cloth. When he returned, he began dabbing at my clothes, my pink tank top, my blue jean skirt, but really, we both knew that wasn't doing any good.

And I was so dizzy.

So drunk, I can't remember very well. But I think I recall what happened.

He'd been dabbing my shirt, and this had been in my opinion, unsuccessful, since I was still soaked. Possibly it was more water than beer at this point, but I was uncomfortable. "Axel," I whined, "Can't I borrow one of your shirts?"

"Yeah," He said. "Don't move." I must have been rocking, because he steadied me where I was. He left the room, turning down the hallway, disappearing.

While he was gone, I looked around the bathroom.

Blue walls with white smears of paint, but purposefully painted, like clouds on an ocean. White tile floor. Blue rugs, one in front of the shower, one in front of the toilet, one in front of the sink. No windows, because of where the bathroom was placed in the apartment. Between a hallway, a bedroom (I presumed), the living room and the kitchen. White porcelain sink, toilet, and tub. Cabinets in the far corner, across from the toilet. No curtain on the shower. Rather, the glass was a certain way that you wouldn't get the details of who was behind the sliding door.

I felt gross.

Axel was still rummaging around for a shirt, I presumed. It was taking forever. I got nervous, rocking back and forth on the toilet seat. Back and forth, back and forth, until, quite suddenly, I only went back, not forth. Back, off the right end of the toilet, collapsed on the floor, my limbs somehow strangely tangled.

I had no energy.

Axel returned, shirt in hand, almost dropping it when his green eyes caught my half-open, red rimmed blue ones. He shook his head, clearly having dealt with this type of behavior before. "What did I tell you? Too much beer..." He slowly walked over to me and knelt down, wedging his left hand under my back and then wrapping his arm around me, trying to get a good hold.

Alcohol makes you do the strangest things.

I kissed him then, this man that I'd never before seen in my life, prior to today's events. I kissed him, and I enjoyed it.

The very best part was that he kissed me back.

Even drunk, I remember kissing Axel. His lips were oddly sweet, despite the countless bottles of beer he'd consumed. They were rich and full. Heavenly. It was a sweet release, an escape from the memories of Hayner; an escape I'd needed so desperately.

It lasted not longer than a few moments, but that was enough to never forget. When we pulled away, I imagine I'd been looking at him dreamily. He was certainly doing the same to me. "Kairi..." He said my name so softly, lust lacing his tone. He bit his lower lip.

Sexy.

I couldn't stop myself. Suddenly I was pulling his shirt over his head, undoing his belt, the zipper of his pants...

He was hard as a rock. I was so drunk, satisfying physical need was beginning to come naturally to me. Instinctively, I slid a hand down his boxers. He gasped. All I could do was smile seductively (or what I thought was seductive), and wrap my fingers around him. He bucked into my hand, and I moved it against him, down the length, enjoying the noises he was making. This continued for maybe a minute or so before he forcefully grabbed my hand with his, and pinned it against the wall.

"You're not the only one who gets to have all the fun." His voice was rough, ragged.

Axel took my other wrist with his right hand, pushing it next to my motionless one, then proceeded to push my shirt up, caressing my stomach, kissing it as my shirt came off. He regarded my pink-gemmed navel piercing and my black bra for a few mere seconds before slipping the straps downwards. They hung on my shoulders, loosely.

He licked his lips, then smirked. "There's something else." My flats came off. He began to run a hand on the calve of my left leg, working his way upwards, making me tremble expectantly. "Ahhh," He said, knowingly, using both hands to roll my skirt up with ease. I felt him get a grip around the elastic. He tugged my panties down, leaving them around the bottoms of my ankles. I took a deep breath.

I laid back as Axel began at my stomach and kissed a line all the way to my chin, pausing briefly. "You ready?" He asked.

All I could do was nod.

He kissed me then, a deep, moving kiss full of lust and want. As he did so, he pushed his way inside of me, slowly, thrusting in and out so it wouldn't be quite as painful. He was rather big. When he got all the way in, I gasped. It felt amazing.

I rocked my hips against his, grabbing his ass and pulling him close, creating a grinding motion that quickly brought me to a climax. Instead of stopping to check on me, he kept thrusting, faster, harder, needy...

He came inside me, finishing with a relieved sigh, knocking my head into the wall.

Breathing heavily, he muttered, "Sorry." I just nodded, pushing myself up as he pulled out of me, sticky and messy. I began to redress myself, still slightly drunk.

"Would it be possible for you to take me home?" I asked. "I have school in the morning, and my dad's probably pissed by now." The second part of that statement might have been a lie. I doubted my father would be angry. He never seemed to mind much when I showed up, late at night. Then again, he had called and left a voicemail, and I had ignored it.

Axel pulled his pants up and re-did his belt. "Sure." And as if it was an afterthought, he studied me and asked, "How old did you say you were again?"

Uh-oh.

I blushed. "Seventeen."

"Shit..." He looked worried, but I didn't think he should've been.

"Don't worry," I comforted, reaching for his arm. "It's not like I'll tell anyone. And it's not like I'm about to go the cops and turn you in. How old are you, by the way?"

He smiled, possibly relieved. He raked a hand through his hair, thoughtful, and answered, "Twenty-two next month. Lemme smoke quick and chug some water and then I'll get you on your way home." He turned towards the doorway. "You should probably call your dad. Your phone's been going off an awful lot. Not sure if you noticed."

I hadn't.

Sure enough, when I made my way to my cell, I had six missed calls and three new voicemails. But they weren't all from my dad. Only the first one was, with him telling me, very unconcerned with my whereabouts, that he'd be out late tonight, and I should go ahead and find myself some dinner. That was nice. The other voicemails (and five missed calls) were from Hayner. I wanted to chuck my phone.

"Kairi, it's Hayner. Where are you? I saw your dad out and I came to your house but you weren't home. I just wanna talk. Please call me back." The first one. I hit seven.

"Kairi, please answer! I know you're upset with me but I miss you so much babe... I just want to hear your voice again. Please, please call me." The second. Disgusted, I deleted it and shook my head.

Axel returned from his cigarette on the porch and saw the angry look on my face. "What's wrong, doll?" I sighed.

"Hayner," I replied. "That's what's wrong. I grabbed my bag and headed towards the front door as he grabbed himself a bottle of water. "I'll tell you about it in the car."

"Kay," He said, following me.

On the ride home, I thought deeply to myself. I couldn't get away from Hayner, it seemed, no matter what I did or what I said. I considered telling him where I'd been this evening, but I really didn't want Axel to get in trouble and end up on the sex offender list. No. This was definitely going to take some more drastic measures.

Axel and I chatted on the long ride home. About life. About relationships, families, mistakes, triumphs, school, work, avoiding what had just happened with us. This was probably a good thing, because by the time Axel turned into my driveway to drop me off, guess who was standing there?

Hayner, arms crossed, looking pissed and trying to get a good glimpse of who I was with.

"Good luck," Axel said, nodding at me and handing me a piece of paper with his number on it. "Call me if you need to escape again." I smiled.

"I definitely will. Have a good night, and thanks for... everything." He smirked, gave me a little wave, and backed out of my driveway, taking off like a bat out of hell into the night. Unwillingly, I turned to face Hayner, summoning all my patience and hoping he wouldn't end up dead on my front lawn.

It was going to be one hell of a night.

-Roxas-

Another shitty day at work.

I was standing in front of the taco line, exactly the place I'd been sedentry for about three hours now. It wouldn't have been so bad, but today we barely seemed to have any business, the manager was a dick, and to top it all off, I had to take a serious piss.

But I really didn't want to move.

Yeah, I'm fucking lazy and I know it. I wish I could've pissed on the cold line, all over the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, what have you, because that is exactly how much I cared whether or not a customer would get sick. At least I know I should never take a management position. They'd shut me down in a real big hurry.

And today was especially trying. I had a lot on my mind, what with doing shitty in school, Kairi still not my girlfriend, and the Crescent father and son entourage constantly tying up my home life. I hated where I was and I hated the idea of going home afterwords. There was nowhere I could find happiness today. As a matter of fact, it seemed there was nowhere I could find happiness ever. Go figure.

But back to business. As depressed as everything made me, tacos were easy. Life sucked, but tacos were easy. Easy tacos. Easy.

None the less, the one customer we did have in the drive through was beginning to irritate me.

"Well, what comes on a regular taco?" Some old lady.

Olette, standing near the order taker register, bubbly as always, was quick to answer the question. "A regular taco comes with the lettuce and cheddar. Supreme includes tomatoes, sour cream and onions."

"What?" Get a hearing aid, lady.

"Regular has lettuce and cheddar cheese, and a supreme taco has tomatoes, sour cream and onions." Pregnant pause.

"I really can't hear you. I'm just going to drive up." Wow. And it would have been easy, had the lady just driven up to the window, but there was another pregnant pause or so before we heard, "My car won't go anywhere! What's going on?"

Olette shot a nervous glance in my direction. "Ma'am, are you sure that your car is on?" Now that she mentioned it, I honestly couldn't hear an engine or a sound of any sort.

The lady laughed. "Oh, silly me, silly me!" I heard the ignition as the car came to life. And in the meantime, with her headset off, Olette burst into a fit of laughter. We had some real winners around this area, apparently.

"Roxas, can you even believe that?" Olette asked between giggles. I shook my head. To be honest, I probably should have enjoyed this display more, seeing as idiot people were the only real entertainment I got from my job. Maybe I really would have been better off working for my parents at their fancy ass restaurant. Then again, maybe not. I especially did not want to see my mother for any long period of time after the call she'd gotten from Ms. Trepe a few nights ago. I was lucky she'd even let me go to work.

Still unamused, I wandered back over to my taco line and waited for the idiot lady to communicate whether she wanted a regular taco or a supreme taco.

"Roxas," Olette called back. "Two regular soft tacos." Just as she'd finished telling me, the order popped up on the screen. Sure enough, two plain jane soft shell tacos. Easy as pie. I got the shells on the grill as my manager, Irvine, sauntered out of the office. He stopped dead right next to me, and I mean up-my-ass-close.

Get out of my damn bubble.

"Don't you still need a break?" He asked me, nonchalantly. Obviously. I'd been needing to take a piss for about an hour now.

Instead of making a smart ass comment I knew was sure to get me written up, I simply nodded and continued on with the creation of my two boring, identical soft shell tacos. I'd already fucked up school, no need to fuck up at work too.

"After this order then, give your headset to Zexion and go on break." Sweet relief.

I quickly finished the tacos up, put them in a noisy plastic bag, and proceeded to hand that to Olette, who was ready with napkins, a reciept and some sauces. During this transaction, Zexion passed by, snatched my headset, and mosied towards the line. Oh, how Zexion hated taco line. Ha ha. I stuck my tongue out at his retreating form, then quickly turned back to Olette, who looked flustered.

"You wouldn't believe the stupidity of some people," Olette said, as she stuffed the contents of her hands into the bag. I seriously doubted that one. Working at a taco joint made you more than aware of idiocy. "I asked if she wanted her tacos hard or soft, and she said, 'hot sauce.' Seriously!" Irritated, she made her way towards the window to deliver the food.

Me, on the other hand, I headed to the register to punch out.

It just happened to be my luck that day that the register wanted to be an asshole. Simply put, it would not take my punch number. And I really, really had to piss.

"Irvine!" I called. Like before, he came from the office, only this time, stomping his feet like he had better things to do than see why an employee would be summoning him. Fucking jerk.

"This had better be important!" He said, glaring. "I'm trying to get the order put into the computer before four!" He had a whole two goddamn hours to do it.

I simply took my hat off, slightly shook my had-been trapped hair out, and glared right back. "Well, the computer won't let me punch out. What do you suggest I do in this serious situation?" Smart-ass me. And I didn't give a shit.

He groaned. "I'll take care of it! Just hurry up and go on your break! I need you back for prep! This store doesn't run itself, you know!" That said, he turned on his heel and jogged back to the office.

"Fine," I murmered to myself. Time to take care of my needy bladder.

Now, I would just like to take this time to say, whoever designed the layout for our store did a horrible job. The employee door that led to the dining area, which was between myself and the bathroom, opened up into a corner area where kids and their parents would sometimes gather to stare intently at the toy machines. Nine times out of ten, you wouldn't have to worry about it, so I didn't worry, seeing as how we were dead and all.

What a mistake.

I shoved that door open, in a hurry to relieve myself, and felt the resistance of whom, or what, I'd managed to hit.

"Ahh!" I heard the statement that probably reflected pain on this unlucky girl's account. Feeling like an even bigger asshole than usual, I snaked my way around the door so I wouldn't have to open it any farther, and stopped dead to examine the damage.

Pretty girl. Platinum blonde hair, cerulean eyes not unlike mine, dressed in a white scarf, a white shirt, blue jeans and some white flats. Poor thing.

The force had knocked her to the ground, where she was trying to sit up, massaging the right side of her head like it was nobody's business. I'd hit her hard.

"Sorry about... that," I started, leaning down and offering a hand. She took it gratefully, and I pulled her up. She was light as a feather. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

To my surprise, she smiled. "It's okay. A lot of bad things seem to happen to me lately. I'm getting kind of used to it, to be honest." Sad. Her life was beginning to sound like mine. "I won't sue you or anything." That was good.

"Well, that's a relief," I replied, giving a small sigh. "Name's Roxas."

"Naminé," She replied. "Sorry to be in your way." Sorry to be in my way? Sounded almost masochistic to me. Sounded something similar to myself.

"Nah, it was my fault. I'm in a hurry to get to... Uh..." How embarassing would it be to say that I was rushing to the bathroom to take a serious piss? Probably pretty embarassing, but I'd never seen this girl, and chances are, I would probably never see her again, so I just went with it. "The bathroom. I've had to piss for like... An hour."

She laughed. "Oh, okay, I'll let you go." Just like that, she walked away and sat down at the corner table, adjacent to the bathroom, and started almost obsessively examining the flip menu we had displayed. How strange.

But whatever. Bathroom time.

-Riku-

I felt like absolute shit. And yet, the funny thing is, nothing was really wrong.

Off heroin, it was difficult to feel good about anything. I outright despised being at some random, gargantuan house in the middle of unfamiliar Twilight Town, trying to concentrate on the task my father had given me, and just all in all, feeling perfectly ordinary. Because I was not ordinary by any standards.

These people had been up my ass since the night we'd arrived at their home. Even at our hotel, it seemed impossible to avoid them, not because they were so intent on the big bucks they were being offered (although I'm quite positive they were), but because they were locked in an all-out attempt to help me feel more comfortable in this home-away-from-home. Go figure. It can be rather difficult to take a hit when you've constantly got people up your ass with a magnifying glass.

And this is why when I was finally offered the chance to spend the weekend with their son, Sora, I took it gratefully.

My thought process revolved around the theory that getting a needle in my arm wouldn't be quite as complicated with only Sora to avoid. He seemed like he generally minded his own business. His brother Roxas just straight up avoided me. It all made me wonder whether or not I would be able to use the boys to "convince" their parents further. Not as though they needed more convincing.

Currently, Sora and I were in the process of surveying the downtown area. Not horribly exciting, but certainly made things easy to make an excuse and sneak off somewhere, then claim I got lost and show up back at the hotel a bit later. Actually, maybe a lot a bit later. Much, much later.

We'd decided to walk, for the exercise as Sora had suggested (he had mentioned being an athlete, and had used several soccer terms to describe occuring events), and mostly because I didn't feel like screwing around trying to find a parking place for the Range Rover. After all, if I was going to take a detour, it would seem so rude of me to leave Sora to walk home, wouldn't it? I certainly thought so. Sora was, as I had noticed, lean and muscular, sexy, with those deep blue eyes and hair that fell perfectly all on it's own. The things I would have loved to do to that boy. But... Back to reality.

We were passing by a small clothing shop on main street when the hunger finally hit me.

"So, Sora," I began. "Where is there to eat around here? Besides your parents' place, that is?" He shrugged.

"Taco place where Roxas works right over there, if you're in the mood for tacos. Or in the mood for Roxas. He seemed pretty crabby when I saw him this morning." I didn't wonder why. I'd been in the room next door the other night, overhearing Roxas' mom giving him hell for his grades, and blatant disrespect of the teachers. He almost reminded me of myself somewhat, but only a little. And only almost.

Tacos? Why make tacos when you could work under your parents? Why not learn the job and hope to inherit the business someday? I just couldn't understand it. And yet, I was starving, so...

"Tacos sound fine," I replied, suddenly deciding to cross the street at an odd angle, making a beeline for the food. Frankly, Sora looked surprised. Eventually, however, he just shrugged and fell in line beside me. "Something wrong with tacos?"

Again, he shrugged. "Just not looking forward to seeing Roxas. He hates when I show up at his job." This made me wonder. Was it worth questioning the relationship between the two brothers, most likely at Sora's expense? I wasn't honestly looking to make anyone angry. Then again, I did find Sora oddly interesting. Whether the parents needed more convincing on their part or not, getting to know their son did not sound like a terrible idea to me.

"Why is that?" Better make the explanation quick. We were almost to the door.

Sora paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. Then, the answer came suddenly, a twisting mess of words, quickly spoken and easily missed if I hadn't been listening carefully enough. "Roxas and I just have a lot of differences. I'm smart, he's kind of dumb. I'm an athlete, he's bound to be the high school drop out. I messed around with the girl I know he's had a crush on for like, forever. And even though we're twins, we're not anything alike. I get the feeling he resents me. A lot. And I mean really resents me. We get along every once in a while, but that's once in a while, and that can be... Well, maybe twice a week if we're lucky. Everything we talk about becomes awkward. Then we stop talking about it to avoid the awkwardness, and eventually we will probably just run out of things to say."

I couldn't quite place the expression on Sora's face at that time. Maybe sadness, but also a look of recognition. Hard to place. Difficult to understand. Impossible to interpret. It just made me more and more confused. The explanation he'd given me hadn't even cleared it up.

"Guess I just don't want to lose him."

That was it.

Sora took a deep breath as we reached the door, and put himself between me and the entrance, just for a moment. "He scares me sometimes. I want to help him. I know he's unhappy with his life, and he just can't understand why, or find the drive to do anything. It makes me sad. I feel like I'd be pretty lonely without him."

Being an only child, I didn't understand really, but I guess it must have been like losing a piece of yourself. And if we were going to relate this to losing pieces of yourself, I knew where this was going. I'd lost myself to the needle months ago.

"Anyway, let's see what he's up to." Sora opened the door for me, gesturing me forward. How polite.

It didn't take us very long to find Roxas. He was sitting at a table near the door, leaning forward, head tilted on one of his hands. Across from him sat a girl. She was pretty plain looking, blonde hair, blue eyes, normal attire. I wondered if this was the girl Sora had been talking about.

"Yo," Sora said, as we passed his brother. Roxas looked suddenly aggitated, and I understood what Sora had been saying earlier. The irritation was burning behind those blue eyes, gaze set on Sora, as though to make him disappear with a simple stare. "Just here to get some food, then I'll be gone, okay?"

"Sure," Roxas replied, quickly and dismissively. He seemed to be in deep conversation with the girl, who was talking animatedly and gesturing with her hands. Again, I questioned her identity.

We reached the counter. Sora didn't glance in Roxas' direction again, and out of respect, I avoided looking that way as well. Clearly, Roxas already seemed to want nothing to do with me, and why challenge the facts any further? No reason.

"Olette! How's work?" A brunette had appeared from behind the counter, a smile on her lips the second she laid eyes on Sora.

"Same as usual. Idiots coming through the drive through today. One lady forgot she turned her car off while she was ordering and had to ask why her car wouldn't go anywhere. I had another guy cuss me out because we got rid of our churros last week. Like that's my fault!" Sora just laughed. They clearly had a very easy friendship. "Are you having the usual today?"

Sora shook his head. "I'm not really hungry. Oh!" He turned to me, grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. "This is Riku. His Dad's helping out with my parents' restaurant. Remember?" Olette nodded, looking pleasent. What an oddly happy girl. "But he's hungry."

"Oh," Olette said, looking my direction. Maybe it was more than just looking in my direction. She was looking me up and down, probably taking in the muscular physique, silver hair, green eyes; all of the things that made me good at being a siren. All of the things that made me good at helping my dad out.

All of the things that led me down my current path...

"Do you know what you want, Riku?"

"Yeah sure. Just give me whatever he normally has. I'm not picky." Truely, I wasn't. And I was always interested in learning more about Sora.

"Okay, sure." It took her a total of about five seconds to get the order put into the computer. "It's seven-seventy-six then please." I reached into my back pocket to retrieve my wallet and handed her my black credit card. They don't deny those anywhere. Not anywhere I'd ever been, at least.

Well, maybe one place.

"It should be right out... Hopefully." She turned to Sora. "Zexion's on line, so you know what that means."

"Yeah. Sorry you're dealing with it today," He replied, looking genuinely irked.

Olette was playing with her hair, glancing around at the surrounding area. Her gaze fell upon Roxas, still lingering at the table with his current distraction. "Just until your brother gets back to work. He's been on break a while. I'm getting worried Irvine's going to come yell at him." I heard Olette's headset go off, and with a quick "See you guys later," she was headed off towards the drive through area.

Sora followed me over to the soda dispenser, and as I filled my cup with the equivalent of Dr. Pepper, he stated, "This is why he worries me. No sense of time management, and doesn't bother to care about the consequences."

"Sounds easy going." I pushed a lid onto my purple cup, and slid a straw out of it's wrapper.

Sora crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, he's an idiot." We found a table, a small booth in the opposite end of the restaurant to where Roxas was. Sora sat across from me, still looking bothered and every once in a whle casually glancing at his twin, looking almost disgusted.

"You're that worried about him?" I asked as Olette brought the food to my table.

The brunette nodded, giving Olette a small wave as she wandered away, again answering a drive through customer. "If he gets fired from here, he's really got problems. And I mean that. I love him, but I don't want to see him do himself in over something stupid."

"Suicidal?" I asked, almost nonchalantly.

He shook his head. "Not that I know of. But he's so unpredictable. It's hard to say."

I dove into my food, consuming it quickly, Sora now glaring in Roxas' general direction. I downed my soda.

"You ready to go?" I asked, growing antsy.

I almost thought he was ignoring me. "You're done eating and he's still sitting there, talking to some stranger. What the hell." He pushed himself up from his seat angrily, and sighed. "Yeah, let's go before I punch him in the face." He looked kind of cute when he was angry. I briefly daydreamed about us having rough, hateful sex with one another, fueled by the issues our own lives were causing; but I quickly let that go. Regular, casual sex was probably better to start off with. Back to Sora's anger problem.

How Sora had gone from loving his brother to punching him in the face was a complete mystery to me, but I had more urgent matters to attend to. Like the needle that was calling my name, still nestled in my bag at the hotel, waiting patiently for me...

We left the restaurant through the double doors, back into the main streets of Twilight Town, where everything was bright even as the sun was beginning to set.

"Hey, Riku," Sora started, before we could begin walking again. "There's somewhere I want to take you. Then we can head home." I liked the sound of that. Going somewhere with Sora (possibly somewhere we could get together? Mmm...), and then heading back to the hotel. That sounded like a great idea.

"Sure," I replied, motioning for him to lead the way. "How far?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound rude or like I was rushing him.

"Not very. Only two more blocks and down the road a ways."

I nodded. "Alright."

And Sora and I set off, for God-knows-what destination. Little did I know that where we were headed would change my life.

Forever.

A/N- I'm sorry about the lack of Sora/Riku hook ups, but I've had this story planned for over three years now and I promise there is more interaction (physically and otherwise) in the next chapter. Kind of hoping Kairi and Axel's nice long scene made up for it. Please read and review. I used to have quite a few reviews on this story and then I took it down, so please give me the feedback I need to become a better writer and deliver what you guys are looking for. Very much appreciated!