Disclaimer: KH does not belong to me. Every character used in the compounds if this fanfic © Square Enix and Disney.
Author's Note: I hate the format thing. It completely kills my style of writing. You see, I use certain symbols for certain things, but they can't be read on Why, I don't know. Also, thank you, my friend and beta, Shadowed Reflections, for putting up with me and my grammatical errors. Oh, and THANK YOU all for the reviews!
Withering Beauty
New Dawn High School was in a frenzy of balloons and paper maché pink and red hearts the next day when the silent teen entered. It sickened Zexion to the extent that, if he had eaten any breakfast, he would have vomited it back up due to the circumstances.
Zexion rested his head against his arms as he stared out the window of his classroom. Even though the class was his second favourite class, his first being science, he did not look forward to his stern maths teacher droning on about square roots, of properties of equality, and calculating pi first thing in the morning. The silver-haired man hadn't actually begun teaching yet as he glared at his pupils through slitted green eyes as he patiently waited for them to quiet down. The loud rumbles of voices went to a quiet simmer until finally dying out as the teacher cleared his throat.
"What is 'deductive reasoning,' I wonder?" Sephiroth asked the class as he began to pace the room, eyeing each and every one of them. "You — children — seem to not know the difference between the 'Law of Detachment' and the 'Law of Syllogism' because every last one of you is failing at the moment." He paused his walk and turned his unnerving gaze to Zexion, and the overly bored boy could have sworn that he saw a glint of amusement in the man's green eyes. "Except … Mr. Ienzo here, who seems to be passing the class with one hundred percent." The force said in the "one hundred" was almost unbearable, as Sephiroth's next words were even harsher. "Seeing that you dimwits seemed to not understand, deductive reasoning is the process of using a general rule to make a specific conclusion. In other words for you simple-minded people, from specific proven laws, rules, or theorems, we can deduce certain truths.
"With that in mind, you have a pop quiz to begin. Now."
Yep, it's going to be a long day …
Science class was uneventful, as all they did was listen to Ansem ramble for the first half and watch him blow up things in the beakers for the second half. Really, the dark-skinned scientist could only concentrate if he spent his morning pestering and badgering a certain easy-to-agitate, silver-haired maths teacher. There were rumours going around about Ansem having a crush on the cold-mannered man, but alas, there was no proof. Besides, the two seemed more like they'd rather survive in category five hurricane than be seen outside of school with each other. Well, at least in Sephiroth's case.
BOOM!
A cloud of smoke washed over the science classroom as whatever Ansem had just inaccurately mixed backfired, bringing the silver-blue haired boy from his wandering thoughts as startled screams filled the room.
Well … Social Studies will be short today, thought Zexion as he and the rest of his class evacuated the room as the fire alarms blared through their ears.
Zexion really didn't like girls, he realized as he sat down at an empty lunch table outside in the commons. They were just there. This might be because of how his so-called "friends" were, he thought half-bitterly as a wave of wild fire-coloured hair fell down upon him and the body that came along with it. Thank God Axel wasn't carrying a lunch tray.
"Trying to hide from us, Zexy?" Axel teased, his arms draped over the younger teen's shoulders. Zexion sighed and rolled his eyes up at the madman. "No. I'm trying to eat lunch," Zexion replied as he pushed Axel away.
"You hate school lunch, though," Roxas interjected as he approached the duo, followed by Demyx, Sora, and … Riku.
Zexion frowned at the other white-haired teen but answered Roxas's question nonetheless.
"I'm probably not going to be able to eat anything after school, knowing you guys." Axel perked up at this and stood back up, having only sat down a second ago.
"So you are going to hang out with us today!" Axel asked as a happy grin spread on his face. Zexion mentally cringed as he physically nodded. "Yay!" And before he could defend himself, a blur of red was on him once again.
Now, being attacked by Axel, and sometimes — rarely — Demyx, was a normal occurrence to Zexion, and all the fan girls (and normal students) noticed that Axel (and sometimes Demyx) was the only member of — well, the world — that Zexion would have any physical contact with. And because the fan girls are fan girls, they had many pictures of those rare moments, most of which happened at lunch, for that was when Zexion's guard wasn't full, and they chose to strike then. But the white-haired boy didn't understand the S.H.G.S. (Silver Haired Gods Society) that much. They weren't your typical rabid fan girls that wanted to kidnap their object(s) of obsession, no — just … obsessive; obsessive girls who all wanted to date either Riku, Kadaj, or … himself. So, after the girls noticed their similar goals, they all banded together.
Typical.
But the strange thing about it was …
That Riku, S.H.G. Candidate #01, announced in December that he was dating his childhood best friend, Sora. The news surprised Zexion, but it did not even faze the fan girls. In fact, it somehow made them even more obsessive. Zexion shuddered.
Thinking back on what he had thought earlier, he really didn't like females, and it was most likely all his "friends'" fault. Since the beginning of time, Axel and Roxas had been dating, and Demyx had some super-rich boyfriend who was older and worked at the No Heart Corporation — a very famous building that was about twenty-two stories high.
Then there was the last of the S.H.G., Kadaj.
Rumour had it that he was dating one of the teachers, male of course. But it was just a rumour, for if it was true and the higher-up people found out about it, the teacher would most likely lose his job as a teacher. Kadaj didn't deny or agree with the rumour, but he did admit to having a boyfriend in late January.
So why did the girls obsess over the three white-haired boys even when two out of the three of them were obviously gay, and the other just really did not care? About life. About anything.
Zexion frowned once again at the information he had just run through in his head as he looked down at the sludge that was apparently supposed to be stuffed shells and his lunch.
He was going to die a hungry child today.
"So, Demyx, you're coming too, right?" the strawberry blond-haired boy leaning against a content looking Axel asked, while taking a sip of his chocolate milk. For the reaction of Roxas' question, however, Demyx looked up from his own milk, strawberry in flavour, and stammered a reply.
"Uh — No. Uh — um, I'll be heading up to N.H.C. to s-see … you know …" he declined as a blush emitted across his cheeks.
"Y'know, Demyx, you practically live with him," Axel spoke up suddenly in a teasing manner. "So I don't see why you can't hang out with us, your buds. Or … do you two have 'plans' tonight?" "Plans" was said in such a lewd — but calm — way that Roxas began to choke on his chocolate milk as he bit back a blush, causing Axel to panic. Luckily for Demyx, the question was soon forgotten as Axel began to rub the boy's back, and Sora asked in an equally panicked tone if he was OK. Zexion sighed as he wondered once again why he hung out with such idiots.
The bell ringing to let students know that they were now officially tardy rang throughout the school as Zexion slowly entered his English classroom. Sitting down at his desk in the far corner of the room, he opened his English book and flipped to the page number written on the board. The assignment was to read several pieces of poetry, then write a short essay on the one they thought held the most meaning. Simple enough, most would think, if not for who was teaching the class. Vincent Valentine was very picky about how one worded things, so one had to make sure that their writing was up to par with their age and not resembling a ten-year-old's.
The thought of Kadaj dating one of the teachers re-entered Zexion's mind as he began to read a poem titled "Butterfly," and he frowned. The rumoured teacher didn't seem like the type to date anyone or anything, especially such a loud-mouthed kid like Kadaj … who was late, Zexion noticed.
… And currently bustling through the door as soon as the thought passed from the white-haired teen's mind. Giving Vincent a sheepish grin, Kadaj handed him a small piece of paper, most likely a late pass, and tried to discreetly hand him some other paper, which Zexion noticed had been folded very carefully and very fancily. Vincent showed a small indication of a frown on his lips as the boy held it out to him but accepted the paper anyway, sliding it into a pants pocket. A small smirk came to Zexion's face as that small action gave him some insight on the rumours, and he wondered if anyone else had noticed. But that could wait until later, Zexion thought, as he went back to reading the assigned poetry.
Coach Leonhart wasn't exactly the best person to have as a gym teacher when it came to a very hyperactive horror that went by the name of Axel.
Not even his infamous death glare worked on the redhead as he laughed inanely while climbing the bleachers to retrieve their missing soccer ball. Indoor soccer was apparently not a good choice of game to play when housing Axel, Sora, Demyx, Rikku, Yuffie and Selphie. Zexion was currently sitting on the sidelines, refusing to participate while he watched Rikku, Selphie, and Yuffie tackle an unguarded Demyx for the soccer ball.
Interesting …
Demyx let out a very unmanly yelp as the ball was grabbed from underneath his feet and thrown towards the opposing team. It was boys versus girls, no one was playing soccer correctly, and no one intended to ever do so.
Typical.
The wondrous thing about it was that their coach wasn't doing anything to stop them.
After the rash and violent battle of indoor soccer was finished, all game participants were very exhausted as they left the battlefield and went into the locker rooms. Zexion was the first to finish dressing, having not participated in the war. On his way out of the locker room, though, he was attacked by a mass of black clothing and fiery red hair that came out of nowhere and pounced upon him. It took Zexion a moment to process what had happened, and once he realized that the "mass" had happened to have been Axel, he struggled to free himself.
"Aw, Zexy, you don't love me any more?" Axel joked as he let go of the now irate teen after he had growled a very unpleasant "Gerroff!". Zexion scowled at the older teen as he felt very inclined to answer.
"Axel …"
"Now, now, Zexion! I know that deep down in the bottom of your itty-bitty heart that you —" Axel was thankfully cut off from whatever ridiculous comment he was spouting as the bell rang overhead, letting everyone know that they had five minutes to get to their next class. So Zexion brushed Axel off like dust and went off to music while Axel was off, after a disappointed pout, to art.
Cloud Strife should not, let me repeat, should not, be a teacher of anything, let alone music. Zexion noted this as the spiky-haired blonde attempted to explain the difference between a dotted quarter note and a clef but failed miserably and soon gave up with a sigh of defeat. "Teach yourselves …" he mumbled as he flopped down into his chair at his desk and rubbed his temples irritably. "Why do I have to do this job? Squall is much more suited for this … Maybe he and I should switch teaching careers …" Zexion smirked as the blonde began to quietly start talking to himself, all the while twirling around a tiger pendant in his fingers. Zexion blinked as he realized that he had seen a very similar pendant to it somewhere …
The final bell of the day rang loudly through the hallways of the school as Zexion quickly packed his stuff so he could hurry out before any more spotted him, remembering the plans that he had with the others. But as he rounded towards the entrance hallway and opened the front door, an unmistakable voice called his name.
Still believing that he could escape, the antisocial teen swung open the door and made his way down the school's steps. Sighing, he started towards the front gates, now running over in his mind where he intended to go when he would reach town, which —
He was mauled by his ever-so-persistent personal attacker known by the normal people of the world as Axel. But this time, to Zexion's dismay, he had more than one attacker; a wave of choppy dirty-blonde was something he was able to glimpse briefly before he and Axel fell down in an ungraceful heap, followed closely behind by the third person. Groaning, Zexion blinked and cocked his head to the side to see that his second assassin had happened to be Demyx.
"Zexy tried to run away! Zexy no fun! Zexy no fun!" both Axel and Demyx chanted as they pinned the white-blue haired teen to the cold pavement.
By now a lot of the other students who had been exiting the school building had turned towards the trio and raised a few eyebrows or stopped in their tracks with curious expressions on their faces.
Part of the group that had stopped happened to be the ringleaders of the S.H.G.S.: Kairi, Yuffie, Rikku and Selphie, who all gave soft gasps at the sight of a dog-piled Zexion. And the dark blue-eyed boy was not enjoying the current situation as he struggled to free himself from the two slightly stronger boys.
It's going to be a long afternoon …
"So … Zexxxxion," Axel said in an overly happy tone near the tormented boy's ear, "Gonna call Mr. Boss-sy to make sure that you can hang late?" Axel asked as he slipped a gloved hand into Roxas' and pulled him close, causing the younger to blush madly.
"I'd … rather go home at curfew, thank you," Zexion muttered as his black eyes met Axel's green ones as he briskly walked a few steps ahead of him. Riku, who was practically being dragged by Sora, gave a snort.
"Don't you ever break rules, pretty boy?" he sneered as Zexion shot him a glare.
"This is coming from someone whose hair goes halfway down his back?" Zexion shot back.
"At least people can see both my eyes. Are you missing one or something?" Zexion felt his brow twitch at this remark.
"Y'know, at least I have some taste in some type of a wardrobe," Zexion began, "unlike you, golden boy," he finished as he looked Riku's outfit up and down, which consisted of some really bright yellow, honey yellow and dark blue.
"This coming from a boy who looks like he's ready to jump off a bridge and kill himself, or, more painfully, run in front of a moving truck?" Riku finished with a triumphant smirk. The words hit a chord in Zexion's chest as he shot Riku a very frightening look.
"Listen, you snotty little bas —"
Zexion's eyes went alarmingly wide at the sound of his cell phone singing/shouting a tune that normally would not sound ominous if it had not been for who it was set for. Swallowing hard, he fished his phone from out of his inside coat pocket and stared at it, stopping his walk in the process.
Axel stopped also, which brought Roxas to a stop, and the two other boys. Lifting his emerald eyes to meet Zexion's slightly shocked ones, he said with a straight face, "Dude … you really need to lay off the heavy metal psycho Japanese rock singers," and as an afterthought, "Is that 朔-saku-?" Zexion ignored the comment about his taste in music as he eyed the phone warily, not opening it.
"He called, actually called …"
All eyes were on Zexion as he began to tremble slightly, flipping open the Motorola phone, cutting the phone's song off abruptly. But he kept the black phone held out in front of him, not uttering a single word. Somehow, Axel took this as a hint of something and briskly grabbed the phone then began talking.
"Why helloooo, Saïx," Axel started in his overly joyous voice, "How are you today?" Zexion glared at the boy, as he knew his "convincing tactics" by now. And so did Saïx. "Pardon? Oh no, your delightful 'son' is right here, safe and sound. Wha — ? Oh no — er … walking. We were walking, but now we're standing still, and — what? NO! Um … because he loves me?" Zexion's glare became more intolerable at Axel's last remark. Oh, how he wished that he could hear what his guardian was saying. "I'm really kidding, Saïx, geez! Huh? … Oh. Homework is A-okay. And I'm — no. No, no… no. For Pete's sa — NO. Saïx, I was only joking. Zex is — … brotherly fashion, but that's not the point — not here. He's visiting someone at the moment. But if you'd like, I'll call — Roxas is no part of this conversation, and I mean it." Now at the tone of those last two words, Zexion and the others all wished that they could hear what the other speaker was saying on the other end because Axel wasn't kidding around any more. He didn't joke when it involved Roxas. "Hmm … Okay. Good bye, and congrats to you, Saïx." The black cell phone came to a close as the redhead let out a loud sigh. Flashing a grin quickly after, though, Axel then gave them all a thumbs up then continued walking, but not before taking Roxas' hand into his again and whispering something in his ear and giving him a light kiss on the cheek.
Going to a place infested with snot-nosed brats who constantly tugged at their parents' sleeves for this and for that was definitely not on Zexion's "fun things to do" list, but after ten minutes of both Axel and Sora persisting and a flash of Sora's irrecusable pout, the other three just gave in and let the two childish ones have their way and raid the toy store.
A pink bunny, a Mickey Mouse, a green snake with enormous yellow eyes, some half-cat half-rabbit thing, a life-sized doll, a smaller doll with freckles next to it that was missing half of its clothes, a pikachu, something that vaguely resembled a dinosaur, the Coca Cola bear, jacks, hula hoops, play dish sets, a Barbie, an Easy Bake oven …
Zexion groaned as he eyed all if the ridiculous kiddie things with disgust, but Axel, Sora and even Roxas took interest in everything they passed for at least a moment. Zexion and Riku were currently some few feet, give or take, behind the other three as Axel sped up and down the aisles with a shopping cart currently housing both Sora and Roxas who were having the time of their lives. Zexion didn't want to try and even understand how both boys had fit in the cart, nor did he wish to understand how three teenagers could have so much fun in a toy store.
"Conductor Axel, to the manly toys, now!" Sora shouted while giggling very suddenly as Axel made a sharp left at the command.
Riku and Zexion slowly followed behind, Riku shaking his head at Sora's way of words and Zexion rolling his eyes.
Legos, light sabers, action figures, G.I. Joes, toy spiders, monkey-in-a-barrel, slinkies, chalk, Gundam, cars, toy bikes, Hot Wheels, Tech Deck Dude, skateboards, Bob the Builder, fishing poles, toy motorcycles, Ba … Barbie?
Zexion's deep blue eyes blinked at the layout as he and Riku both leaned against a nearby wall and watched as Axel sped up and down the aisles with the cart while the twins shouted and pointed with "ooh"s and "ah"s at about every manly toy in sight. Including Barbie.
"I honestly don't understand how you can deal with him," Zexion said to the other silver-haired teen as he watched the trio. Riku didn't fully take the bait, though.
"He's been my friend since I could walk, and he hasn't changed, even though he's now my boyfriend.
"… I honestly think it's cute. He's fine just the way he is. Adorable really, but at the same time, too, too much energy." Zexion nodded as they watched Axel run into a shelf, prompting a wave of both boxed and un-boxed light sabers to fall down into the cart and onto both Roxas and Sora.
"And you love him?" Zexion asked nonchalantly, while Axel was now being yelled at by one of the workers for reckless cart driving/steering.
"Yes, but …" There was a pause as aquamarine eyes looked up at awaiting denim-blue eyes. "Why? You thinking about getting yourself 'one?'" Zexion didn't get to find out what that "one" was supposed to be, though, for as soon as he opened his mouth to reply, Axel came dashing towards them with a pair of squealing brunets.
"INCOMING!"
Both Zexion and Riku had about two seconds to move before the cart and the boys came crashing into where they had been casually standing.
"That was fun!"
"Axel, do it again!"
Axel then thanked them both for their love of his reckless tactics as he hopped down from the bottom rail and took a deep bow. "Now where would you two lovely brunets like to go next?" he asked in a suave voice as he straightened back up.
"To the —" Roxas began.
"— video games!" Sora finished, thrusting his fist up into the air.
"And look at this, Riku," Sora spoke in a cheery tone as he pulled something from behind him in the cart and held it out to his friend, "I got a Kaiser Lemon while Roxas bought a Lightning Saix, and … and Axel has Shining Gundam." The cinnamon brown-haired boy held up each box as he said the toy's name. "Cool, huh? Cool?" Riku regarded the toys with a nod, then glanced over at Zexion with a curious expression, who wasn't paying the sapphire eyed boy any mind. When it came to favourite toys, he was geared more towards Transformers and Megam —
"Wah! Yay, video games!" Zexion watched with disbelief as Axel gave a large push and practically jumped onto the cart as it rolled into the branched-off gaming section.
Tetris, War, Pac-man, karaoke, Metal Gear Solid, some THING, monsters, hedgehogs, war, pocket monsters, Xenosaga, pink puffball, World of Warcraft, Bomberman, many movie-made-games, Guitar Hero, monkeys, Mortal Kombat, mystic warriors, elves, war, digital monsters, Dance Dance Revolution, puppies, eggs, 007, Bible Game, The Legend of Zelda, ninjas, Street Fighter, dinosaurs, Monster Rancher, dragons, Soul Cal — ah.
Zexion's gloved hand immediately reached out towards the small blue and white cover and turned to the back to read about the game play. He really needed to get a new obsession, he realized, as he turned from the shelf after deciding that he would buy the game. Especially if he was now resulting to digital versions of his new favourite pastime hobby. Sighing, he decided he should look for the others, peering around for vibrant red hair. He would try to find Axel first, he decided, as he started walking towards where the older boy had run to. I hope my GameBoy still works, he thought as he glanced back at the game in his hand. If not, I won't be able to play this, anyway … Zexion felt a glum expression at that, but shook it off as he pulled out his pocket watch to look at the time. 4:50.
They had spent too much time in one place already.
Fully frowning at the thought, the silver-haired boy turned a corner to soon hear a familiar voice arguing with a whining familiar voice.
"— Rolling around balls of trash is not better than an all-out war," he heard and saw Riku say to a slightly furious-looking Sora.
"And an old man who goes by the name of Snake is so much more entertaining?" Sora countered as he glanced at the game in his boyfriend's hands.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry, Ri, but your taste in men is starting to slip."
"What? Sora, you full well kno —"
"Hey Ri-ku," Axel called from at the cash register — why hadn't Zexion noticed that he was there? — as the clerk began to ring up his game, "are you two done with your lover's spat and ready to purchase?"
As if Axel's words meant something, Sora and Riku ended their argument as they turned towards the direction that Axel and Zexion were and began walking, no trace of the random bout evident between them. Roxas popped up then also and followed after, Zexion taking a moment to respond.
As the clerk began to slide their products across the scanner, Zexion noticed that their video games ranged from everywhere: Sora's current obsession happened to be Katamari Damacy, while his double, Roxas, was purchasing Mario Dance Dance Revolution and had been muttering to himself about buying and beating all the other DDRs, including In the Groove, so it was the last one; Axel held in his hand the newly released and now purchased Guitar Hero 2 (and had said that he and Demyx were definitely going to fight over it), and Zexion was purchasing the Gameboy version of Sudoku, his only thought being when the clerk handed it back to him, Stupid obsessions …
"I call Mario DDR first!" Sora yelled happily as they exited the toy store, while he poured a whole box of Nerds into his mouth. Roxas turned to look at Sora as if he had just announced that he was straight and dating Yuffie.
"No."
"But, Niiiiiichan —"
"No." Roxas repeated as Sora pouted. "Besides, you're Niichan."
"Well — ! … Yeah. But … But, how — how about … I let … youplayKatamarifirst?" Sora suggested. Roxas blinked to digest the last part, then looked as if he was considering the suggestion for a moment, then began to shake his head but stopped suddenly, as if he changed his mind.
"Okay. Deal. Hand?" Roxas held out his hand to the other boy and the other gladly took it. "… ew … Sora. Your hand's all sticky …"
Deciding on what type of toppings for two pizzas had never been such a hard topic for Zexion. At least, not when it was only he and Axel (and in rare cases, Demyx) choosing. But when it came to Riku, Sora, and Roxas added to the duo, it was an all-out war. Riku wanted Canadian bacon with olives and mushrooms, while Sora wanted pepperoni with bananas and anchovies, but neither liked the others' choices to touch their slices; Roxas liked ham and jalapeños, while Axel wanted pineapples and green peppers with barbequed chicken and all Zexion wanted was sausage and onions. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem if a) they weren't only buying two pizzas, b) Riku and Sora didn't have a problem with other toppings touching theirs, and c) they weren't short on money for either more pizzas or more toppings, meaning that their toppings were limited anyway.
So … because of their three problems, they were currently in the predicament of what toppings they were going to choose. This is ridiculous … Zexion thought to himself as he watched the two sets of friends-turned-boyfriends argue back and forth. He wasn't even that hungry, and besides, if toppings were such a complicated discussion, why not make both pizzas cheese? Saves money, right? After Riku shouted something about Sora eating anything and everything that was edible on the planet Earth, Zexion had had enough. I don't need this … he thought as he stood up from his seat in the booth and pulled up his left sleeve to see that the time read 6:00. The two had been bickering for twenty minutes already, and Zexion did not want nor wish to get a headache from it. Sighing in a definite tone, he turned on his heel to leave, ignoring Axel's worried shouts.
Ocean-blue eyes tinted with seaweed green …
Zexion frowned at his memory of the man he had met yesterday. The man had seemed so out of place in the book store, like he belonged far off into the ocean's icy waters. Or something. He had such unique eyes that Zexion really liked, the color standing out so much in the burgundy-carpeted book store. But that didn't give him a reason to start thinking about them as soon as he entered the place. Book stores gave books, not reason for guys to fanta —
"Welcome to the Emerald Blues and Crimson Jazz Boo —"
"Yuffie, not across the café!" Kairi scolded as she ran up beside her friend.
"Oops. Sorry, Kairi."
But Zexion's attention was not on the two girls as he set foot into the book store. He took a quick look around — just on a whim, not really hoping to find — but at the same time, wanting to find — to see …
Icy teal eyes staring directly at him.
His eyes widened in surprise to actually see the cream-coloured male once again. He almost took a step back after blinking a few times to confirm that the guy was actually there but stopped himself just before doing so. This afternoon the man happened to be wearing dark suede combat boots, black — silk? or maybe even leather? — cargo pants and an embroidered — what looked like stained — polo shirt with seemingly scattered buttons all over it that went to nothing. And in his ears were those unique earrings from the other day.
He also noted that the man was currently sitting at the table that he had sat at the other day and currently staring at him with an amused expression.
Zexion blinked as he felt his cheeks redden as the realization of what he had been doing. Why was I … The silver-haired boy's thoughts shut down then, though, as the pale blond-haired man stood up from his seat. Oh no …
"ZEXXXXION!" came a very loud voice from behind the silver-haired teen as he was suddenly sent spiralling down to the ground. Looking to the side, he came face to face with vibrant green orbs and diamond-shaped violet tattoos.
Axel.
"We decided on cheese pizza, but you had left, so I came to retrieve you because, y'know, you need to eat and all. Also, we should return before Sora devours it all," Axel explained as he stood up straight, pulling the shorter boy up also. Zexion glared at him and debated whether or not the slightly older boy had just saved him or interrupted something that was important and bound to happen. Glancing back, he saw that the mysterious stranger with platinum-blonde hair was still watching him, but now his eyes were on Axel. "— and I'm sure that you wouldn't mind cheese pizza, even though your favourite is — yo, Zex, are you listening?" Zexion blinked as Axel's hand flew up in front of his face.
"Uh … yeah." Zexion muttered but he was really still watching the man whose gaze was now back on him. Zexion looked back at Axel and decided on what his next action was going to be. But before he could initiate it, the man became distracted.
"Ah, Mister Luxord," Yuffie called as she ran from behind the counter, "Are you leaving?"
"Hey, Zex," Axel said with an impatient tone as Zexion turned his attention back to his redheaded friend. "We're leaving. You must be tired or something because you keep on zoning out." Axel muttered as he grabbed the boy's arm and began to pull him out of the door.
"What? Wait, Axel —" His thoughts and what he was going to say faded away once more though as turquoise pools met with his midnight eyes as he left the tranquil book store.
7:30.
It was fucking seven-thirty.
After running around to various clothing stores for some pair of pants that Axel just had to buy for his beloved Roxas, a whole hour had passed. A whole hour that was basically wasted for Zexion, because all he bought from those billion stores was some new gloves, a really cool, pure silver chain, some handcuff replacements (a pair of handcuffs on one of his older pairs of pants had come off) and four differently designed black wristbands. He had a feeling he'd need them …
But now it was late, and the street lamps were coming on. He was standing outside of the ebony-coloured door to his small townhouse and pondering whether or not to step inside. His gut told him not to, but his brain told him better. Sighing in defeat, placing an un-gloved hand on the golden doorknob, he turned it.
Dark … and extremely cold, was the first thing that welcomed Zexion home. The second was a pair of strong but slim arms that practically just shot from out of the darkness. Zexion felt his body tense as he felt warm breath and mustard-brown hair tickle his cheek and neck.
"Welcome back, Zexion," Vexen spoke in a hushed voice, "I hope you had fun with Axel.
"… Go straight to bed, okay? Saïx is in a bad mood …" Vexen then let go and gave the boy a warm smile. Zexion only nodded then proceeded up the dark stairs and to his room. But when he reached the middle, where a small catwalk was, he abruptly ran into someone. Oh, please don't let it —
"Argh!" Zexion yelped as he was harshly shoved into the hard wall behind him.
"And where the hell were you!" he felt Saïx hiss right in his face. This wasn't good for him. He couldn't see his everyday attacker. "And what was with Axel talking for you? Can't you speak for yourself? What is he, your boyfriend? I thought he was dating that — that Roxas boy? Or … is he dating you both?" Zexion flinched as he felt one of Saïx's hands pull both of his arms above his head and hold his wrists tightly together, while the other yanked at his silver locks. Suddenly, as Zexion forced back a groan of pain, the hall light above him flickered on, and the dim light revealed a very pissed off Saïx. "Where were you!" Saïx continued. The question was rhetorical, so Zexion only stared back at him. "Going to clubs? Getting drunk? Parties? … Did you do your homework? And what's this crap?" Zexion forced himself not to show any emotion, especially confusion, which he was feeling at the moment from the last comment. But soon his bottled thoughts were answered, as a small black book was now just inches from his pale face. Ribbajack?
Zexion, though he forbade it, let out a small gasp.
A slightly sadistic smirk came to Saïx's face at the silent response. "So you purchased this … filth?" he asked in a quiet manner as he quite slowly opened it and bent it far apart. Then, a moment later … with all of his strength — or at least part of it — ripped it straight down the middle of its spine. "Hmph." He dropped one half and threw the other half behind his back. Zexion used every ounce of control he had not to do anything rash. Including showing emotion. But Saïx didn't like the result, as he felt and saw the man lean fully onto him and bring a hand to his left cheek, then pull it away as soon as it had grazed it. "You little …" Zexion bit back another groan as the hand came in contact with his cheek once again, except with this time there was much more force behind it. He wanted to cup his now bruising cheek, but didn't dare move until he was permitted to do so, still feeling the blue-haired man against him. Saïx slowly stepped back and sneered. "Listen, you ungrateful little orphan, if you go anywhere tomorrow, it will be during the daytime. Understood?" Glazed denim-blues only blinked back in response, causing the man's anger to rise as he stepped forward and ground his soles into Zexion's bare feet. Grabbing the boy's shoulders, he growled, "You respond when being talked to. Understand, Zexion?" Name basis. BAD. The boy bit back a sigh laced within a sob, then nodded slowly to show that he fully understood, and Saïx let him go, pleased.
"Go to your room. And sleep," Saïx ordered as he stepped back once more. Zexion gave a short nod, then began the rest of his trek upstairs. But before he reached the final stair, he gave a quick glance back, only to see that Saïx's attention was now on the man standing at the foot of the stairs.
Vexen.
Had he seen the whole thing? Zexion didn't dwell on it long, though, as he noticed that the pine green-eyed man was not returning his gaze to the frost-blue haired man, but that his intense expression was fixed on him.
Zexion turned quickly and proceeded to his room, shutting the door softly and locking it in a hasty manner, now feeling slightly paranoid.
Coffee cream coloured skin … Milky yellow hair … that uniquely-shaped earring — those many other earrings … swamp-lake blue orbs … Those eyes …
Zexion frowned as he lifted his pale hand up to his ceiling, as if trying to touch it. His name is Luxord … His frown deepened as he lowered his arm back down to his black cushioned sheets and turned his gaze to the full moon outside of his window. But why does his name sound so familiar … ?
To be continued
Tasogare: … Yeah. This chapter had about five more written pages to it, but I got so jumbled and annoyed with it that I cut it from the second, and, after revising it, will be putting it at the beginning of the third chapter.
All items mentioned in this 'fic are real are © their creator(s).
Random fact: Part of the title for this 'fic was inspired by Dir en grey's CD, Withering to death. It is also part of what made me start writing this.
Random fact 02: Guitar Hero 2 will not be released in America until November. I don't own 1, but I do plan on getting 2.
And lastly, writing about toy stores is actually pretty fun, and if I could fit, I would definitely go riding around in one of the carts and point to the interesting toys.
Don't forget to review! They inspire me to update!
