"Ouch!" Roxas wined, squeezing his already shut eyes further down.
"Oh quit being a baby Rox." The familiar voice said.
"Damn it Vanitas, quit being a dick! That's sore! Now's not the time to be messing with me, we just got back from Sora's F-" Roxas yelled, opening his cerulean gaze to meet…
Sora's.
He blinked. Felt something rising up in the back of his throat, other than his voice. Bile?
Sora continued to brush Roxas' blond hair from his eyes with his hand, hitting the sore spot where he slammed his head against the floor. Somehow this… Imaginary Sora was holding Roxas' head in his lap, brushing his hair. Brushing. As in there was physical contact. Which meant.
Roxas jumped up and ran into his bathroom, spewing up the only thing in his stomach; Acid. Not that there was a lot of that either, so most of it was dry heaving.
"What in the hell has gotten into you Roxas? Is this why you didn't show up to our spot?" Sora asked following him into the bathroom. Following.
"How are you in here!" Roxas finally shouted, not knowing what else to do.
Sora blinked at the tone, cocking his head to the side, "Oh, so I'm the one who gets stood up then yelled at? Awesome. I slept here in your bed while you were out doing whatever it was that you were doing, if you must know. Is that a problem?"
"You're damn right it's a problem Sora. Specially because you have been dead for a couple of days now!"
Sora was silent for a moment. He quirked his brow, "Are you trying to be funny Roxas? Cause that isn't funny. I'm obviously alive. Have been since I was born."
"Sora. I held your dead body when I found you! I-I attended your funeral for God's sake!" Roxas yelled.
"Okay. I could really do without the yelling thanks. And what crack are you smoking Roxas, because I'm not dead." He emphasized.
Roxas walked forward, lifting up Sora's shirt to examine the stab wounds. Sora stared at him for a moment, "Is that your way of hitting on me Roxas, cause that's pretty blunt."
"Damnit Sora, get your head out of your ass and look at your stomach!"
Sora rolled his eyes, "Fine Ms. Dramatic, I'll humor you and look at my stomach. We both know that I don't have any scars th-"
Sora cut out as soon as his gaze hit the mirror. He took a long look, before glancing at Roxas. Roxas couldn't stop looking at the scars that littered the others abdomen. The memories started flooding back into his head, and he bit back tears,
"Okay, where is the camera? You got me Roxas, let's all laugh now."
"Do I look like I'm going to laugh Sora? It's not a joke!" Roxas said, storming out of the bathroom, wiping at his eyes. He knew something that would prove it to the other. Irrefutable evidence; the news. No doubt it was still talking about him. Nothing ever happened that was this big, so no doubt they would run it for months.
He rushed to the small television, clicking the small button. He hadn't changed the channel anytime soon.
The screen lit up to show the usual ensemble of people who spoke about the days events, and things to come. Smack in the middle of the male and female newscasters was a picture of the brunette smiling his usual goofy grin. In bold letters at that bottom it read; "Boy Killed; Murderer yet to be found" He could hear Sora trailing in from the bathroom slowly. Roxas glanced back at the brunette, ignoring what the people on t.v. had to say. Sora's face screwed up slightly, and he stared at the screen intensely. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again instantly. Absently, his hand traveled to his stomach, rubbing the scars lightly,
"I thought it was a dream…" He whispered. Roxas watched him closely, "Dream? No… I-I was there after Sora. I held you till the cops came, and even then, I couldn't let go of you. I've been stuck in my room for days… I mean. I lost my best friend! Well, thought I did." Roxas said, standing up and walking over to Sora. He tentatively reached out for the other's arm, scared that he might go through the brunette.
He was shocked when he felt the warm contact of the other's skin. He was slammed with emotions once again. All assaulting him at once. His head began to spin again, and he fell forward.
Strong arms wrapped around him, stopping him from kissing the floor again. Today he was either really angry at the floor, or wanting to give it a hug. He hadn't decided yet.
Sora pulled him close, in a warm embrace. And for some reason, the opposite reaction came from Roxas. He got angry. He could feel it simmer inside of him. Sad tears became angry ones, and he pushed away from Sora. Or tried to. Sora held him in place. Roxas struggled,
"No. No, no, no, no! You don't have the right to do this to me Sora! You can't just die, then come back in my room out of the blue and pretend everything is all right! It isn't!" He said into the other's chest, clawing at Sora's arms, "You're dead Sora! You're dead. This isn't even possible! You left me! You left me hanging. We won't get to graduate together, or pull pranks, or just be goofy like we used to do! Hell, I still don't even know what you wanted to tell me that day." He said, finally giving up his struggle. He let his arms fall to his side, and just let Sora hold him.
"Are you done making me feel bad for something I didn't do Roxas?" Sora asked, voice trembling slightly. Roxas remained silent. He didn't want Sora to feel bad. It wasn't his fault that he was murdered. Yet that anger had been there. Had been since he had found Sora there.
He felt something drop onto his head, and glanced up to see Sora crying as well. Roxas' heart dropped, "The dream I had… Well… The last thing I remember was texting you, asking where you were. I was going to leave… But I stayed. Just in case you decided to show up. Then… Then. I couldn't see their face Roxas. They had a black coat on, and the hood covered their face… When I did see their face, it was blank. I don't remember it."
Roxas just listened in silence. Taking in every word that Sora spoke. He had to be dreaming. There were no such things as ghosts. And if there was, wouldn't they be unable to make physical contact with the living? The only reasonable explanation was that Roxas was asleep and dreaming all this.
But those tears were real. And that touch was real. And that voice…
He wrapped his arms around Sora, hugging him like they used to do when one of them was down. They remained like that for what seemed like years.
"What were you going to tell me on that day?" Roxas asked quietly.
Sora tensed slightly, "It was nothing. I was stupid to even think about telling you. At the time I thought it was a good idea…"
Roxas leaned back, glancing at Sora, "Okay… Well. Do you know how long you are going to be here? What if this is the only time that you get to tell me Sora?"
Sora bit his lip, letting go of Roxas, and stepping back slightly. He scuffed his foot against the ground, "I don't know Roxas. I mean. It's pointless, you know? Nothing big."
"Sora. Obviously you died trying to tell me. Literally" Roxas said soberly.
Sora continued to look down at his shoes, scraping it across the floor. Roxas didn't think that he was going to speak at first, until Sora began to mumble something.
"Huh?"
"I said… That. Well…" Sora started, "I mean. I know it's ridiculous. And that it is an impossible chase, even more so now."
"Just tell me Sora. I'm not going to freak out. Remember when you thought I would freak when you told me you were gay?" Roxas encouraged
Sora rubbed the back of his neck, "I've started to fall for you Roxas. I mean, I know, it's crazy. And I didn't want to ruin anything between us, especially now. And I didn't want to make things awkward or have you hate me… But it kills me Roxas. I see you with one of your girlfriends, and the way some of them treat you… it just gets me so angry! Cause I know that I can treat you way better than they ever could."
Roxas remained silent, eyes wide as he stared at his friend. His best friend. He had never even noticed that Sora liked him. Was Sora saying he got jealous when he had been dating a girl? I mean, sure, they weren't very great to him. And it wasn't like he ever did anything with them. The most he had ever done was kiss. But even then… Was he gay? Sure, he looked at other guys every once in a while. But… But society deemed it a taboo. Sure, Sora was gay. But that was Sora. Not Roxas. Who had been raised by a strict parent. A parent that had high expectations. A parent that wanted kids, and went to church.
"Say something at least. I'd rather you tell me to get the hell out, rather than stare at me." Sora said, glancing down again.
"Well I'm not going to tell you that. My mom would flip her lid if she saw you. Plus I would never kick you out Sora. You know that. I just… I don't know what to say. Thanks? I'm just not… I don't think…"
"I get it Roxas. You're not gay. Or bi. Or anything like that." Sora said, defeated.
"Hey now. It's… Ugh. I don't know. Flattering really. I mean…" Roxas trailed off. Was he gay? The thoughts came flooding back to him. Maybe when they wrestled, they held each other a little too long. Or when the slept in the same bed, someone would have their arm around the other one…
But he wasn't! He couldn't be. He liked chicks, and that was that. No conceivable way that he was gay, even in the slightest. Then why have you always said no to sex. Or looked at boobs for that matter? A voice questioned in the back of his head.
He pushed the thought out of his head. He was just considerate for women. Love wasn't just about that. Right?
"I told you it would make things awkward. That's why I didn't want to say anything. Especially after all this just happened and…"
"Nothing is awkward Sora, I promise. It's quite flattering, actually." Roxas started. Sora continued to look down at the floor. Silence hung between them so thick, that Roxas could feel it suffocating him. He scratched the back of his head, "Look. You're my best friend Sora. I know how hard it was for you to tell me, but I am glad you did. I'm glad you could be honest with me, and nothing is going to change. I promise."
"You're positive?"
Instead of replying, Roxas stepped forward and embraced the other in their usual hug. Roxas felt a small spark, but pushed it down. He was just glad to see his friend. That was all.
Sora's muscles relaxed, and he returned the hug, "I'm glad I could see you again. I don't know how this works, or how long I have… But I'm glad I got to see you at least."
Roxas was about to speak, but was interrupted by the sound of a rapping on the door,
"Roxas honey. I'm coming in."
The door knob turned slowly, and Roxas froze.
I am so glad that I got some new subscribers! And I am really happy you all enjoy this story a lot. I hope that I don't let you down. Also I would like to thank you for pointing out my errors. That really helps me a lot in my writing, so keep it up and I will do my best to work on it =) Also, I remember that someone pointed out Vanitas isn't in character. That is true, but in my last story I promised someone I would make Vanitas the good guy and sweet, so he will be a little OOC for a few chapters. I promise I'll return him to his dickish, tough guy self later in the story =) Once again thank you for the reviews and the pointers. Please feel free to continue to point things out along the way. I am a big boy and can take constructive criticism! =) R&R if you don't mind. They make me happy! By the way, I will start putting my A.N's at the bottom of the chapter, because if everyone is like me, you don't want to read a huge paragraph before the story =)
