Well, third chapter re-written. Wow, reading through all my older chapters is killing me. SO. MANY. GRAMMER. MISTAKES.

Hopefully I caught them all the second time around. :D if not.. please review and let me know, so I can change it!

I don't own.. nope! Not mine. I only own them in my messed up little head!

Axel: pffft, you don't own me!

Ren: you're right, Roxas does..

Axel: No! nobody owns me but-

Roxas: Axel, go get me some soda.

Axel: Right away! –runsoff-

Ren: -makeswhippedsound-

Roxas: -grins- I know

--

Roxas POV:

I closed my front door and leaned against it. There were tingles spreading throughout my entire body, starting at my cheek. As cheesy and cliché as it was, it made my entire body heat up. My heart wouldn't shut up and I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off my face. Is this what it feels like to be love? Could this be love?

I internally rolled my eyes and dropped my school bag, love? What am I thinking? This was nothing but stupid high school lust. I mean, who really falls in love in high school? No one, right?

I convinced myself I was right and slipped my shoes off, dropping them next to my bag. I shook the thought of love away and felt across the wall, trying to find the light switch. All the lights were out and I was guessing Sora's at Riku's house, but where are my parents?

I looked around, which was kind of useless since there was no light. I couldn't even remember where the light switch was! It was weird that no one was home, and it was really quiet. I hate to say that it was too quiet, but it was.

I let out a small groan and tried to make my way to my room without any light. Suddenly I heard a 'click' to my right and the lights turned on. Then I hear a low scratchy cough. Great, guess who's home.

I could smell the alcohol from where I stood and nearly gagged. How can he stand drinking something that smells so.. gross. It burns my insides with every whiff I take.

He staggered slowly to the kitchen doorway, when he spotted me he stopped, a huge grin spreading across his face. I knew it wasn't a happy grin, he was angry. I can't even remember the last time I saw a real, sincerely happy, grin on his face. To be honest, I can barely remember ever really talking to him anymore. He's always either drunk, or working.

Luckily for me, he's a truck driver. So he's gone for weeks on end. I don't know how he can survive those weeks without his alcohol though, unless he's become an expert with drunk driving.

My thoughts are broken when I hear his low chuckle. I chewed on the inside of my lip, hoping he'll let me pass by peacefully. But I guess I was hoping for a little too much.

His body swayed a little as he made his way closer to me. I cleared my throat, trying to stop from shaking. How could I go from being so happy to so scared like this? Well, I guess a drunk abusive dad can do that to you.

He looked at me with his eyes slightly bulging. I could tell he was waiting for a greeting. My dad will find any reason to get mad. You could walk into the house and not say 'hello' and he would begin a huge yelling rant, usually in my case, ending with some sort of beating. They usually consist of the same things. Thrown against a wall, or smacked. Sometimes pushed to the ground and kicked, but that's only when I'm really in trouble.

"H-hey Dad!" I give him a small smile, hoping he'll be happy with that and let me go.

My dad was a big man, probably about six feet tall. His arms were very muscular, and his chest was huge. But if you had just met him, you would just think he was fat because of the beer belly he had. His hair was blonde and short, not even reaching the middle of his neck. His face was big and round, and his chin was always decorated with whiskers. His eyes were once blue, I remember when I was young I used to tell him the reminded me of the sky. That was before he turned into what he was now. Now they are an empty gray color, all evidence of blue gone.

His smile slowly disappeared and his brows knitted themselves together, "Nice of you to come home, where have you been?"

I scratched my head and looked down at the ground, "I had detention dad, I told mom."

He stepped closer to me, and I looked up a little, only enough to see him clenching his fists, "Detention ends at 5… it's now 8.. Where have you been?"

I looked up at him, only to find his look freighting, so I turned away and tried to collect my thoughts, "A f-friend of mine took me to get some dinner, I'm sorry I … I should have called."

"You should have." I could hear his voice rising with every syllable until I was pretty sure the entire town could hear him, "but you didn't! Tell me, who was it that took you out on a 'date'?"

I looked at him panicky, hoping he would calm down. "I never said… Dad, it wasn't a date, I said dinner."

My dad let out an annoyed sigh and shook his head, "Boy, go get my beer!"

I let out a sigh, hoping this was it of the conversation, and ran to the kitchen, taking his beer off the counter. I stepped out of the kitchen doorway to find him waiting right there. I handed it to him and watched him gulp it down. I didn't understand why I had to get it for him, but as long as it takes his mind off of me. I tried to make my get away but he grabbed my arm, "And where are you going? Did I say I was finished with you, boy?"

I shook my head and went back over to him, "No sir, I'm sorry."

He smirked and handed me his empty beer bottle, pointing into the kitchen. I shuffled in there and threw it in the trash, and reluctantly made my way back to him. Before I knew what had happened I was slammed into the wall. My toes lifted off the ground as he pushed his hands into my shoulders.

His face was completely red, eyes had a scary look in them.

"Who took you?"

My brain quickly searched for someone. The first name that came to my mind was Olette. "Uhh Olette, okay?"

He pushed my back further into the wall, as though he was trying to push me through; I sort of wished he would, on the other side of this wall was Axel's apartment. I would feel much more comfortable there.

"You're lying!" I felt his spit on my face, and his alcohol breath was making me gag. I was at a loss for words as I felt his hands push further, probably going to leave huge bruises on my shoulders. A small sob escaped my throat, awarding me with more pressure onto my shoulders.

My dad hated when I cried. I tried not to, but sometimes I couldn't help it. It wasn't so much that it hurt physically, but it was killing me emotionally. Just seeing the hate and disgust in his eyes every time he looked at me, it hurt.

I heard a door open down the hallway and felt the pressure on my shoulders let up a little. My mom gasped when she looked over at us. Not like she hasn't seen this before.

I was surprised when the petite spoke up, her eyes cast to the ground. "Honey, put him down, I gave him permission to go out."

I was even more surprised when my dad listened and lowered me to the ground. Without another word he stomped to his room and slammed his door. My mom then came rushing towards me, feeling my head and arms to make sure I was ok. I squirmed away and assured her I was fine. I don't know why today was different, and why she finally decided to stick up for me. She never did before; just lock herself in her room so she wouldn't get hurt. Though usually I was ok with it.. to an extent. I didn't want her to get hurt, and would rather I get beaten than her, but it still hurt that she did nothing to stop it.

I looked over at the skinny woman and shook my head; I didn't want her to worry, "I'm fine, mom. You know how dad gets." She reached forward and combed my hair back, her blue eyes watery. I smiled at her, trying to give her reassurance. She needed to know I wasn't angry with her. She understood and pushed her long brown hair behind her ear.

I stepped away and made my way to the front door. I looked over my shoulder at her and bit my lip.

"I'm going out for a walk mom, I'll be home soon." She nodded and I walked out the door. I didn't know where I was going, I just wanted out of there.

--

Axel POV:

Axel Rose, you lucky bitch! He's gay, and he totally wants you. After I closed my front door I pumped my fists in the air. What's weird is, I haven't gotten this excited over a person in.. ever. Sure I've dated some people, but I never really had feelings for them. Now, that makes me sound like a whore. I also never slept with them.. usually. A few rare ones I slept with, but that's a whole other story.

Demyx was my first, but we were best friends.. never anything more. For a while we wanted to be, but it never turned into anything. We were just there for each other. When something went wrong, we had each other. But when you hit that age, snuggles and whispering sweet nothings.. just doesn't do it. But, that too, is a whole other story. Back to my beautiful blonde;

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, and I felt like fucking dancing. So I did.

Shut up, no one was there to see me! Now secretly, I have no rhythm. So therefore, I can't dance. So when I go to parties that involve dancing, I wait for everyone else to get wasted.. then I dance.. then they think I'm a good dancer. See, that's what I call being smart.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard some voices coming through my wall. I could tell right away that one of them was Roxas's. I snuck over to the wall and put my ear against it, but immediately pulled back.

What are you doing Axel? You can't listen to him in his own, private home? What are you, a stalker?

I jumped when I heard yelling and threw my ear back against the wall. So yes, I guess I am a stalker. I let out a small very manly whine and pushed my ear further against the wall, hoping it would help me hear better. I couldn't hear Roxas's voice clearly, and soon I couldn't hear him at all.

After about thirty seconds I sighed and pulled back, deciding my stalking was done for the night. Besides, I shouldn't stalk him anyway, would probably be a turn off.

Except, if I woke up to Roxas staring into my window watching me, I wouldn't mind too much. Ok, maybe stalking is a turn off for most people.

Suddenly my entire wall shook; it almost felt like something was thrown against it.. But judging by the loud cry, it was a person. And I recognized that voice right away. It was Roxas, and he had just been thrown against the wall.

I jumped towards the wall and put both my hands on it, as if it would help. What should I do? I could hear his faint crying and I wished the wall wasn't there! I was glued to the spot I was standing, trying to figure out something to do. Maybe him and Sora were.. play fighting?

My theory was shot down when I heard a low gruff voice shout, "Your LYING!"

The talking had stopped and I heard another voice enter. It was definitely a woman, the voice was quite and smooth. But she was really far away from the wall, I could tell. I couldn't quite hear what she said, but I heard something drop to the ground, then footsteps walking away.

I heard Roxas mutter, "I'm fine, mom. You know how dad gets."

A look a realization suddenly crossed my face, and I knew exactly what happened.

Roxas's.. dad threw him against the wall? And by the way Roxas said 'you know how dad gets' leads me to believe he does that often. How could anyone do that, especially to someone as little and innocent as Roxas?

The sweat was literally pouring out of me. Did that really just happen? I heard Roxas mumbled something about going for a walk and darted to my front door. I opened it up only to see him passing by, eyes cast toward the ground. He didn't hear me as I ran after him. What got his attention was me calling his name.

He turned on his heel and before I realized it, he was inches away from his face. We just stood there, staring into each other's eyes.

His eyes were.. blue. Like really blue. I was at a loss for words as I stared at him. He was so innocent and perfect, how could anyone be this innocent and yet, have to go through their fathers beatings?

I lost my train of thought when he let out a small sniff. I then noticed the few tears that were starting to come out of his big blue eyes. Before I could stop myself, I brought my hand up and rested it on his cheek, wiping away the tears with my thumb.

"Are you okay?"

Wow… this was a sensitive moment and that's all that can come out of my mouth.. Really smooth. Of course he's not okay, he was just slammed against the wall by his dad.

He didn't reply, just stared at me.

"T-The walls are thin, I-" I stopped myself from continuing, maybe he didn't want to talk about that. But just to be sure I gave him a small smile, "Do you need to talk?"

I felt him grip onto the front of my shirt. He then slowly wrapped his arms around my waist. Before I knew it, I had him in a tight embrace. I was.. surprised to say the least. I wasn't expecting a hug from him, though I accepted it with glee. His lithe body seemed to fit perfectly into mine. Sadly, it ended to soon. He pulled back and cleared his throat, a small blush on his face.

"I'm fine, really, I've gone through a lot worse with my dad, that was … that was nothing." He took a step back and sniffled again, "Sorry we were so loud!"

Before I could say another word he had his back towards me, jogging away. I cussed to myself and went back inside. I missed the perfect chance to get close with him. But then again, it's only been a day. Why would he want to talk to me about something that serious when he only knew me for a day?

I plopped myself on the couch, and grabbed the remote. I absent-mindedly flipped through the channels, landing on something random, not that I was really watching it. My mind kept wondering back to Roxas. Without realizing it, he had pretty much told me his father abused him. I mean, 'I've been through worse' sort of implies that.

I just wish we felt comfortable talking to me about it. He was probably going to talk to his stupid friend Hayner.

I shook my head and chuckled, I don't even know this Hayner so I shouldn't judge him. But for some reason I didn't like him. But for Roxas's sake, I would keep that to myself. I let out a yawn and kicked my feet onto the coffee table. Besides what just happened, today was good. Hopefully tomorrow would be the same.

--

I woke up to a loud knocking on my door. I jumped abruptly and wiped my eyes clear of crust. What the hell time was it? I let out a yawn and glared at the door.

Who dares wake me up? Whoever it should know that I like my sleep. Fucking assholes, I hope they burn I'm-

My internal rant was interrupted by the sound my alarm clock buzzing in my room.

It took me a second of looking around to realize I was still on the couch. Damn, fell asleep on the couch again. I stood up and almost fell over.

Well people, meet morning Axel. He's got really dark circles under his eyes, falls a lot, and has a fur ball on top of his head.. A.K.A... my hair. I could never quiet understand how it got that frizzy, because I don't think I move around that much in my sleep.

I grumbled out a small, "I'm coming!" and stumbled to the door. I opened it and was greeted with a 'alwayssomehowhappyinthemorning' Demyx.

"GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!!" Demyx smiled at me and shoved a coffee in my face. I greedily took it and sucked some down. I glanced behind him to see an equally as happy Sora, an emo looking Zexion, and a 'sleepingonSorasarm' Roxas. He looked peaceful asleep. I gave him a small concerned look my eyes met with Sora. Sora smiled and mouthed 'He's fine'. I smiled back and returned my eyes to the stupid blonde who was standing in front of my door. I glared at Demyx and took another small sip of my coffee.

"Go wet your hair and brush it, it looks like crap." Demyx ruffled it and smiled at me. I swatted his hand away and mumbled something that even I couldn't understand and went to my bathroom. On the mirror was an envelope with the name ' Axel' scribbled on it. I opened it to find a note and some cash.

'Won't be home for a few days. This should last till then.

Love, mom'

I crumbled the note and threw it over my shoulder. After wetting my hair and spraying it with some hairspray, I counted the money.. twenty-five dollars. She does realize we have no food in our house. Well, another night living off ramen.. Or Demyx's moms cooking. Which wasn't that bad but it was just the fact that I'm tired of mooching off Demyx.

I walked out to find Roxas asleep on my couch and Sora poking him with his house key.

Sora glanced up at me and pouted, "He won't wake up."

And shot him a confused look and continued walking towards my front door, "And I can help how?"

Suddenly Demyx's head shot up.. Oh! Light bulb! Demyx ran over to me and began jumped up and down. He attached himself to my arm and danced around.

"Do what we used to do to Zexy at sleepovers!"

My trademark grin spread across my face. Am I really that evil?… yeah.. I am.

I ran off to my room at grabbed two flashlights.. this was gonna be good. I had Sora hold one and Demyx hold the other, right in front of Roxas's eyes. We turned them on and I pulled open the small blonde's eyelids…

"TRUCK COMING!" Roxas jumped and fell on top of Sora, while me and Demyx rolled in laughter.

"Dammit." Roxas cursed and grabbed his bag.. I bit my finger to hold back laughs. He let out a groan and walked out of my apartment, but of course, not before yelling, " I hate you guys.."

--

Must commit this to memory, NEVER WAKE UP A SLEEPY ROXAS, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

Two class periods have already rolled by and he still, hasn't said a word! I couldn't even mess with him while we were getting dressed for PE. And trust me I was looked forward to teasing a half naked Roxas!

Stupid Demyx and his stupid ideas. Now Roxas is acting all bitchy!

I was too absorbed in my thoughts of lighting Demyx on fire to realize that coach had blown his whistle; I finally broke out of my thought when I heard him calling my name.

"Mr. Rose, since you seem like your not planning on leaving anytime soon, you can put all the balls away!"

"Oh gee, it would be an honor!" I rolled my eyes and stood up, feeling a little light headed.

"Watch your mouth, young man."

I ignored him and went on picking up the balls…. By the time I was finished it seemed all the other students where done dressing and off to third period. Great… I shall, again be late… I'm supposed to be with Roxas right now.. I was his guardian. I am NOT getting another detention! Coach Strife will be to blame, not me!

I opened the locker room door and was greeted with a pissed looking Hayner.

"What's up Blondie?"

He glared daggers at me and stormed off, "Go to hell, Fag!"

Hmm.. harsh. I shrugged it off and went over to my gym locker. I was a bit used to being called a fag, hell, I called myself a fag!

I chuckled to myself but stopped when I saw Roxas sitting on the bench, knees drawn into his chest. His head was buried into his knees and I could see his shoulders shaking slightly. The kid has been crying too much, there's no way I will stand for him going through this!

I sat down next to him and wrapped my arm around him. He jumped slightly and shot his head up, not looking in my direction.

"Roxas are you-"

"Not right now, Axel." He stood up and wiped his eyes. " See you in third period." he grabbed his bag and hurried out of the room, not even glancing back.

I scratched the back of my head and stared at the door he just walked out of.. What just happened?

Roxas POV:

I walked into third period and slammed my bag down. God, what is his problem? Ugh! Third period.. Spanish.. who needs Spanish? I guess I could sleep through this class... yeah I'll sleep. I put my head down and closed my eyes. Sweet, sweet freedom. I didn't have to think about stupid Hayner and his stupid… ugh. I groaned and thought back to what happened.

I walked into the locker room, leaving Axel behind to zone out. I don't feel like dealing with anybody today.. I am tired and grumpy and that's all I'm gonna say. It was a little funny to see everyone, but Sora, try to do anything to make me happy. It wasn't that I was mad at them, I was just tired. Staying up all night crying isn't really a way to spend a night.

I wasn't so much crying over my dad, that was normal, What I was crying over was how confused I was. There was Axel yet, being with him would cause so many problems yet, I don't care.

I slowly got changed, by the time I was done; only Hayner and I were left. Totally fine with me, it's just Hayner.

"Dude, I waited for you yesterday after school where were you?" Hayner crossed his arms and glared at me.

"Uhh.. With Axel.. I had detention.." I bit my lip and looked up at him.

"I called you at like 6.. You still weren't home.."

I tilted my head at him... what's is his problem.. He doesn't own me; I can do what I want when I want. I closed my locker and crossed my arms, glaring at him slightly.

"I went out to dinner with Axel, is there a problem with that?"

His eyes widened, "Problem? Yeah there's a problem! What are you doing hanging out with a fucking flamer like that?"

Since when did Hayner have a problem with gay people? See, the only person I told about me being gay was Olette, and she kept it a secret, so Hayner doesn't know. Obviously, it was good to keep it a secret.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yeah, I don't want my best friend to be taken by some loser fag."

Wait; did he just call Axel a loser fag? I glared at him and put my hands on my hips. Was he really angry about him being gay?

"He's probably loaded with STDs, he's not the type of guy to be hanging out with."

"Hayner, you don't know him so don't talk about him. He is not loaded with STDs an he's not a 'loser fag' as you so kindly put it!"

"Oh, so now you're sticking up for him? You would go against your own best friend for that fag?"

"Don't call him that!"

Hayner slammed his fist into a locker, making me drop my bag.

"Whatever man, I'm going... have a nice day." Hayner stormed out, leaving me shocked. God, why must the world crash today? I plopped myself on the bench and held my face in my hands. The tears I had been holding back all morning finally started to fall out. Why was I crying? Was it that fact that Hayner has something against Axel? Or, was it that he seems to have something against gay people? That means I would never be able to tell him about me.. he would never accept me. What if something happens between Axel and me? Will I have to choose? Would Axel make me choose? God this thinking wasn't helping, just making me cry harder. This sucks!

My shoulder twitched at a sudden weight I felt on it. I soon realized it was an arm.. Axels arm. Or, as Hayner so nicely put it, the 'loser fags' arm. I don't think I can be around him right now. God, I hate this.

RING

RING

RING

I jumped up and looked around the room, realizing it wasn't my Spanish class anymore, but I was in my History class, and the bell had just rang. I looked around confused. I don't even remember leaving Spanish! A hand found its way to my shoulder and I looked up to see Axel grinning at me.

"I practically had to carry you here, I don't even know if you truly woke up, but you walked, a little bit clumsily, I might add."

I never knew I could sleep through 2 class periods like that. I smiled up at Axel and mumbled a small thanks.

You know that refreshed feeling you get, after you've slept through half of your day at school? Well, that's what I was feeling..

I walked into the lunchroom with Axel not leaving my side. He barely knows me and yet, he somehow knows to stay by my side, even when I make it seem as though I don't want him to. I don't know why I deny what I want. When I'm sad I want someone to be there with me.. Not to give me attention but to be like 'hey, I'm here if you wanna talk'… and that's what Axel was doing. He wasn't talking. Just being there, and that alone made me feel better.

I glanced over at the table I sat at yesterday.. My eyes met with Olette and she gave me a sad look then went back to talking to Hayner.. He knew I was in the room, but chose to ignore me.

I followed Axel out to the courtyard and sat down on a crowded bench with Axel practically on top of me. A blush made its way to my face and I snuggled into him, feeling his warmth. The weather was getting sort of chilly and I forgot my jacket. I saw him smile out of the corner of my eye and wrap his arm around my waist… I felt… safe. I didn't even care at the moment if Hayner saw me. I was content with Axel.

"Awe that's sooo cute" Demyx chirped form across the table. Axel threw a french fry at him and flipped him off.

I didn't talk at all during lunch.. Just listened to Axel talk. It was… nice.

I was able to learn little things about Axel just from hearing him talk! I learned that him Demyx have known each other for a really long time. Also that Axel love's Demyx's mom's cooking, and his favorite meal from her is grilled chicken with rice and carrots. Also that he loves playing with fire and Demyx is constantly having to take away lighters from him, worried that he'll hurt himself.

His favorite genre of music was pop and hip hop, and if you talked bad about Britney Spears, he would 'light you on fire and watch while you burn'.

I also learned that he wants to get another piercing, and that the he got his tattoos when he was 12.

I was surprised to find out so much about him just by listening to him talk. But, what can I say? He's very talkative. Not that I have a problem with that, I love listening to his voice.

--

The bell for sixth period rang and I was so glad the day was over. I made my way outside and met up with Sora and Riku.. Snuggling. They might as well just go out.. They already act like they are. They walked up ahead of me, in their own little world and I sort of felt, left out. Yeah, I had best friends but I was never as close to Hayner as they are to each other. Like we would never be able to… cuddle.. Not that I would really want to cuddle Hayner but still…

Ok, that was a lie. I used to like Hayner. But I could never tell him that! He was homophobic to the extreme. Like even when we had sleepovers in middle school, he wouldn't sleep in the same bed as me! So I got over him, deciding it would never happen.

I suddenly felt something familiar rest on my shoulder. I turned my head and was met with green eyes.. I could get lost in his eyes.

"Hey snuggle bug!" he smiled at me and ruffled my hair.

I smiled back at him, "Hey Axel!"

My heart felt like it was beating double, I could feel my face heating. Was this normal?

"You feeling better then you were before?" Axel wrapped his arm around me and I blushed deeply.

"Uhh, yeah I guess.."

"What happened between you and Blondie, eh? He didn't seem to happy after 2nd period."

Should I tell him? The argument was about him.. So I guess he has a right to know but..

"You can tell me, we're friends, right?"

I sighed and caved in, telling him the whole story, word for word.

"I don't really know if it bothers me because of what he said, or the fact that now I know he will never accept me, ya know, if I told him I was gay. I think it's both."

Axel looked at me for a second, eyes filled with concern, "Well honestly, I could care less what Blondie has to say about me, but when he finds out about you, if he ever hurts you, emotionally or physically, he will not live to see the light of day again." Axel took his finger and slid it across my jaw, "And that's a promise! I will never let anyone hurt you."

I rolled my eyes at him and pushed his finger away from my face, "You are such a sap." I walked up ahead of him. I turned around to see him standing there staring at me. I stuck my tongue out and continued walking. He ran up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, nuzzling into my neck. I felt my whole body heat up, I felt like my heart was gonna jump out of my chest.

Wow, after only two days, I fell in love..

--

-headdesk- YES, I know it's cheesy. But I'm sure you've felt like that, right?

-sigh- FINE, I'm a cheese ball. Its cool. I like cheese anyway! –munchsonbrie-

Please review!