Axel shot up, breathing somewhat heavily. He caught his breath and lay back down in his empty bed—he had no sheets or covers—thinking about the dream. He and Roxas had grown up together; they were best friends. But never had there been any hints towards something that could lead to an actual relationship. And now Axel was romantically dreaming about Roxas almost every single night.
Maybe it didn't mean anything. Maybe it was because Axel's roommate had a boyfriend. Maybe it was because he had been away at college for a year now, while Roxas was still a senior in high school. Maybe it was because he was going home for a surprise visit before his last final and couldn't wait to see his best friend again.
Or maybe it wasn't.
Either way, Axel knew that he wouldn't be telling Roxas about these dreams. He would tell him everything else about college, but not the dreams. The dreams would remain a secret.
He finally climbed out of bed once his alarm went off at long last. He quickly dismissed it, hoping not to wake his roommate. It was too late, though; his roommate stirred in bed and turned to face the redhead.
"What the hell, Axel?" he groaned. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I'm going home for a visit, Demyx. Remember?" he reminded his roommate.
"I didn't realise you were leaving so damn early in the morning."
"What does it matter?"
"Zexion was gonna stop by and spend the night. He won't be around till this afternoon, though."
"Well, tell him that I said hi, then, and that I'm sorry I couldn't be here."
"All right, will do."
"Go back to sleep now."
"You don't have to tell me twice." He rolled over again and almost instantly fell back asleep.
As Axel got dressed, he thought about the day ahead of him. First he would take a bus to the train station. Then he would take the train to Twilight Town. That would be a very long ride. But from there Riku would be picking him up. Then he would take Axel to the high school before school gets out so he could surprise Roxas. He smiled at his slyness. Riku was the only one in their group of friends who knew that Axel was visiting. Roxas was clueless, as well as Sora, Kairi and Naminé. But Axel only really cared about surprising Roxas.
When he finished getting ready, he hurried out of his dorm, grabbing a quick something for breakfast. No one else wake awake yet, but he preferred that. Then he reached the bus stop just in time to catch it. He jumped onto the bus and took an empty seat in the middle, but more towards the back. He looked around; most of the bus was empty and that made it quiet. It wasn't too long of a bus ride, though, so he kept himself awake for it. And when the bus reached the train station, he rushed off it. But now he had to wait for the train. By this time, it was barely six o'clock in the morning. Then when the train finally arrived, it was six o'clock in the morning. He climbed aboard and took another empty seat. Again, there were still few people on the train. And since it was going to be a long ride, he dozed in and out of sleep. Seven and a half hours later he came to his destination. He stepped off the train and quickly found his next ride. The silver haired teen was leaning against his blue car, smiling. Axel smiled back.
"Hey Riku," he greeted his friend.
"Hey Axel," he replied. "How have you been?"
"Well, right now I'm just tired from waking up so early, and then sitting all day," he answered. "But college has been good."
"That's good."
"How are you?"
"I'm great."
The two friends continued to talk as they climbed into Riku's car and started for the high school. Axel listened to Riku's words. He had decided not to attend college that year so he could stay with Sora. The two of them had been together for three years now; they had pretty much been high school sweethearts. Riku also mentioned Kairi and Naminé. Then he started to talk about Roxas and that's what sparked Axel's interest. He mentioned how Roxas was doing and how he was still single, just like the girls.
"How about school?" Axel questioned.
"What about it?"
"How is he doing in school?"
"Oh." He laughed. "He's doing perfectly fine. I mean, it's Roxas. He's a straight 'A' student, just like you were."
"Good."
He smiled again. "He misses you. He is going to be so happy when he sees you get out of this car."
Axel returned the smile. "I've missed him, too."
"Just him?"
"No. Obviously I've missed all of you."
"But…?"
"But nothing."
He laughed again. "But you've missed Roxas the most, right?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
He continued to laugh. "It's okay."
"Where are you going with this?"
"I'm not going anywhere."
Just then, Axel's phone vibrated. He took it from his pocket to see that he had received a text.
"Who is it?" Riku asked.
"It's Roxas, actually." He read the text message.
"What does it say?"
"He said that he can't wait to graduate and be out of high school forever."
Riku laughed once again. "That's Roxas for you. He excels at school, but he can't stand to be there. I think it's just because you're not around anymore."
"I doubt that," he denied.
"Hey, I'm just thinking out loud."
Axel's phone vibrated again. "Now he's calling me."
"Pick it up!"
"Don't talk," he said back. Then he answered his phone. "You're in school," he stated.
"I know," Roxas's voice whispered back.
"Then why are you calling me?"
"I needed to ask you something."
"And it couldn't wait until school got out?"
"No."
He laughed. "What is it?"
"Are you coming home before your last final? I mean, it's not for another week, right?"
"Yeah, it is, but…" he sighed, trailing off. "I'm sorry Rox, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it."
"But…graduation…"
"I know. I hate the fact that I'll miss it, but I have too much going on and it's just a really long trip to have to take an extra two times."
"Oh." He sounded disappointed. "Okay."
"Hey, I'll call you later."
"All right. Bye Ax."
"Bye." He hung up.
"What did he want?" Riku wondered.
"To know if I would be coming home before my last final."
"You had to lie to him? That sucks."
"He sounded really disappointed, too."
"Well, it'll be worth it when we get to the high school. Now he's gonna be even more surprised."
"No kidding."
The rest of the car ride was spent mostly in silence, except for the music playing on Riku's iPod.
"Just in time," Riku spoke up as they stopped in front of the main entrance of the Twilight Town high school. "School's just about to get out."
"Should I stay in here for now?"
"Yeah, come out when…well, you'll know when."
Riku climbed out of his car.
Axel waited.
