Hello! I want to thank all of my wonderful reviewers for making me absolutly quiver with joy! You're the best! I just can't resist the update when I get such kind responces to my work! lols
Something I forgot to mention, I hope you don't mind, is there is going to be a bit of AerisxCloud-ishness going on. It won't be anything severe, but they're dating. Alright? Carry on! XD (I think I'm having WAY too much fun here...)
Lashing Out At Shadows
Chapter the Third: Chill
Roxas led Axel through the streets of Twilight Town after school the next day. He had a knot deep in his gut that had been twisting and lurching its way into a painful existence since he left school the previous day. How did I get myself into this? He wondered dully, not that it mattered. The tall and admittedly frightening red-head would soon know where Roxas lived, and there would be nothing to stop him from coming there… In the dead of night… With a fully loaded hand gun… Roxas shook the thoughts from his mind. He convinced himself that as long as he stood with the English help he was providing, and did nothing else, things would be fine.
"So what's the plan, kid?" Axel asked, breaking the rather uncomfortable silence.
Roxas jumped. What? "Oh," He said quietly. "I'll have to l-look at your midterm… for a start." He trailed off as he spoke, getting quieter and quieter. Axel sighed audibly and fished through his bag for the said exam. He found it crumpled up near to the bottom, and after some flattening-out of the messy paper, he handed it to the other boy. Roxas nodded and slipped it neatly into his own bag without looking at it.
He climbed the steps to his home with the red-head at his heels and unlocked the door. The pair stepped into a clean and warm living room, with a cushy couch and two arm chairs arranged for talking, and a large – but not obnoxiously large – television. Roxas shed his coat and put it in its place, pointing out the hook by the door for Axel's things. Axel, however, did not shed his black hoodie completely, but unzipped it instead.
Suddenly, Aeris walked into the kitchen on the other side of the entrance. She stopped when she saw the boys and smiled at the one she recognized. "Hello, Roxas," she said warmly. "I didn't hear you come in." She stripped the white apron off and hung it across a barstool revealing a light pink dress that was very form-fitting, but not at all disgustingly so. "And who might you be?" She asked Axel, smiling again.
He grimaced awkwardly and said, "Axel."
"It's a pleasure, Axel." The brunette said. "I'm Aeris." They shook hands. "You should have told me you were bringing a friend over today, Rox, I would have baked something." She said bluntly as she strolled back to the kitchen. "What are you boys up to this weekend?"
Axel shrugged, but Roxas knew what to say. "Studying." He said shortly.
"Studying?" Aeris turned back to face the boys. "This weekend?" She laughed lightly. "You can do better than that. It's a long weekend, remember?"
It sure is… Roxas thought sorely. Unless I don't live to see the end of it…
"Are you going to be around this evening, Axel?" Aeris smiled again.
Roxas began to shake his head, but Axel beat him to the mark, "I could be." He said smartly. "What for?"
"Well, I forgot to tell Rox, but I was planning on going to see that new movie tonight," She looked at the ceiling as if it remembered something she didn't. "What was it called?"
"Cask of the Serpent?" Axel suggested excitedly.
"Yes!" replied Aeris. "A friend of mine and I were planning to go, want to come boys?"
"Absolutely." Axel said before Roxas could object.
"Okay, well you guys study, and I'll call around to see when we'll go. I'll let you know!"
She seemed more excited than normal to Roxas, who was very clever when it came to reading the girl's unspoken opinions, however infrequently they were left unheard. Axel chuckled and said, "So where to?"
Roxas swallowed hard and led the tall boy upstairs. Roxas' room was small, with light green walls and a badly made bad. There was a small desk in the corner standing next to a dresser that provided more workspace. Roxas dropped his things by the dresser and sank into the desk chair, pulling a spiral notebook and Axel's test from his bag, and locating a pen.
Axel found his eyes falling to a line of picture frames on the bedside table. They were of people he had never seen before, but they looked happy. A woman with striking blue eyes and very dark hair on the arm of a blond man whose eyes were closed stood out for some reason, apart form the others, which seemed to mostly contain that pretty girl, Aeris, and Roxas with some others captured at different points along their apparent long history.
Axel looked away from the photos when he heard the other boy clear his throat.
"L-let's start with connotation." The boy said, again folding under Axel's green-eyed gaze.
"Sure," The boy replied with a sigh. "What are those?"
"It's how the w-word feels when you read it." Roxas answered, stuttering a little.
"Oh, yeah… You know," said Axel at random, "I didn't know you spoke until today, kid. Why's that?"
Roxas glared at the boy. "Don't call me that." His voice was suddenly harsh.
Axel put his hands in the air as if surrendering. "Okay, no need to take drastic measures." He smirked. "You didn't answer my question."
Roxas rolled his eyes and looked away. "The marker was made of wood and rotted years ago. What's 'rotted'?"
"When things go bad and get nasty?" Axel answered with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were the smart one."
Roxas sighed irritably. "The connotation of the word. What's the connotation of the word 'rotted' in that sentence?"
"Oh," Axel thought for a moment. "You lost me." He finally admitted, feeling dumb.
Roxas held his face in his hands. "It's negative." He said through his hands.
"Why?" asked Axel as he plopped onto the twin-sized bed.
"Because when you read it in that context, it gives you a negative emotion."
"Really?" Axel snickered when those ocean-blue eyes sent the death-glare in his direction from between pale fingers. The blond boy sighed heavily. Axel decided he had better change the subject before the pint-sized nutter killed him on the spot. "So what's between you and Aeris? Is she your sister or something?"
Roxas' hands dropped back to his lap. "No."
"So you like her?" Axel grinned when the boy's glare intensified.
"You changed the subject away from English."
"You noticed?" Axel's grin widened. "Oh, come one, I won't tell her. Won't blame you either, as a matter of fact." He glanced back over at the photos.
"St-stay away from her." Roxas' voice squeaked slightly when he stuttered this time.
Axel laughed. "She's too old for us anyway," he snickered. "So it doesn't matter, eh, pal?"
"I'm not your pal." Roxas whispered.
Axel picked up the picture of the man and woman. "Who are these people?" he asked innocently.
Roxas jumped to his feet, snatching the frame from the other boy. "Don't touch that." His voice absolutely dripped with poison.
Axel's smile faded. It's about time to give that kid a Snickers, he thought, amused and a bit nervous.
Axel was more than glad when the study session had finally ended. Roxas was a bomb just itching to explode as far as the red-head could tell, and the vibes in the small bedroom got more and more dense and heavy as the afternoon wore on. Finally, Aeris came to the rescue with news about the movie.
"Cloud agreed to meet us there around seven." She had informed them. "So you guys have about half an hour left to get together to go, alright?"
"Thanks!" Axel called as she left. Roxas simply nodded. "Do you even talk to her?" Axel asked Roxas in a huff after the girl had left. "At all?"
Roxas said nothing.
Axel began to grind his teeth together irritably. "Look," He said finally. "I can't concentrate anymore. Let's call it a day, and go see a movie."
Roxas sighed, but closed the book. Then he looked at the redhead expectantly.
"What?" Axel asked.
Roxas tilted his head to one side slightly.
"We've got half an hour to kill right?" Axel reasoned in response to the silence. "So let's do something… You know, to get to know each other better." The blond gave him a questioning look. "Let's… uh…" Axel looked around, searching for one good idea. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you like fire, man?"
Roxas raised an eyebrow.
Axel sighed, and then pulled a silver lighter, his prized Zippo, out of his hoodie pocket. He slicked the object open against his pant leg and the flame burst to life. Roxas' eyes narrowed, but he leaned forward to get a better look. The red-head smirked and flicked the door shut, extinguishing the flames.
Roxas dared to glance up at the taller boy. Axel grinned upon seeing the faintest hint of what could have been excitement in the boy's eyes.
"How?" He whispered simply.
Axel got the message. He flicked the lighter open again, striking it back to life. Roxas stared.
Over the next twenty minuets, the red-head taught the quiet blond how to strike up the flame across his pant leg, and so, a badly balanced and slightly awkward friendship was born.
The movie was a horror/thriller by some unknown director with a bunch of unknowns playing even the leading roles. Axel laughed through the whole thing, but Roxas was not quite so thrilled. He kept finding himself glancing over at Aeris and her 'friend' Cloud. He had known for a while that they were together, but he couldn't help but feel a little displaced and… maybe… unwanted? in the darkness of the theater.
When the movie ended the four went to a new restaurant in town for a bite to eat before parting ways and heading home. Aeris walked back to Roxas' house with him.
"I'll be staying downstairs if it's alright with you, Rox." She said when they reached the door. "I don't like it when your father goes off on the weekends."
Roxas nodded and the pair came inside.
"He's a nice boy," Aeris said airily later that evening, regarding Axel. "You never told me you had made a new study-friend."
"I didn't." Roxas said quietly.
Aeris sighed and leaned forward to regain the boy's gaze. "People are not always an evil, Rox."
He looked away, placing his empty hot chocolate mug on the sofa table.
"What do you think of Cloud?" Aeris was obviously trying to change the subject. Roxas shrugged. "You'd tell me if you didn't like him, right?"
Roxas thought for a long moment, then nodded.
Aeris smiled. "I think I like him."
Roxas nodded again.
"And he…"
"He likes you too." Roxas said quietly.
Aeris took in a sharp breath. Letting it out slowly, she replied, "Is that okay?"
Roxas looked up at her suddenly. Was she asking him if it was okay for her to love someone? "Of course." He answered. Aeris smiled weakly.
"Time for bed, then," she said a short time later, when they both had consumed enough warm chocolaty goodness. Roxas bid her 'goodnight' and closed himself in his room.
He was up for hours into the night staring at the happy couple in the picture frame.