Chap 3 is FINALLY up. Sorry it took so long. Almost finished my final exams of school. but they've been pretty hectic so far :). Thanks for the (only) review:). Gave me that motivation to put up the third chapter in the end. Get me off me arse :)
Oh, and RARA ROGER FEDERER! If you don't know, he's is back on top after beating Rafael Nadal (in three sets) in London on court! Very proud of the guy (half South African, mind you!) and glad to see him claim his crown again :).
Just so you're not confused, the first bit of the chapter are the characters getting ready to do out. See if you can guess who they are :)
Rated M in this chapter for drunkeness and swearing. Enjoy reading :)
Hair gel styled in to blond locks, standing in nothing but a towel. Deodorant, cologne. Worn out dark blue jeans, turquoise dress shirt, seashell necklace, and key chain. Cellphone, keys, iPod.
Three quarter pants, dark blue t-shirt, beaded necklace, key chain. Towel dry chocolate brown hair. Oversized skater shoes. Cellphone, wallet, keys on bed, forgotten.
Comb through pale blond, sprinkle perfume, light make-up, light pink wrinkled top and white three quarters, pumps. Lip ice on pale lips, thrown in handbag with cellphone, tampons, purse and iPod.
Borrowed green sparkly top from twin, jumping into tight skinnies from last summer, choker, carefully styled red hair with hairdryer and mousse, heavy dark make-up and lip gloss. High heels. Cellphone jammed into pocket with lip gloss, mascara, mini torch.
Turquoise eyes lined with black, tight-fitting faded jeans, wife-beater with waistcoat, All Stars, carefully combed long silver hair, good luck charm. Check for condoms, cellphone and wallet. Go downstairs.
Numerous bracelets on thin wrists, leather pants, belt, tight-fitting shirt. Necklaces. Gel in wet red hair, black boots, fingerless biker gloves. Condoms, cellphone, cards. Eyeliner. Last check in mirror.
Let's roll.
When Roxas arrived at Riku's huge expansive mansion of a house, the crowd was pumping. Miraculously, there was a huge space for the dance floor, packed with teenagers with red plastic cups in hand, dancing to the beat emanating from speakers that were taller than Roxas himself.
Grabbing a drink (from the copious amounts of alcohol on the table), Roxas decided to explore the place to look for familiar faces. Before he got past the dance floor, Kairi grabbed his wrist and dragged him through a mass of writhing bodies until he landed in front of the lunch table, minus Cloud, Tifa and Demyx. He greeted Sora, Kairi and Namine with a grin. A hand on his shoulder told him that Axel was right behind him. An addictive rhythm started through the room, and Roxas started his moving his body, his head grooving to the beat.
Roxas soon noticed Seifer in the crowd, quite close to the small group. Roxas quickly downed what was left of his drink and pushed his way out of the crowd. As soon as he was out, an arm linked with his and he found Namine at his side. "Let's go get a drink," she said in his ear. Roxas smiled and together they walked out of the house to the expansive backyard.
Kairi, Sora and Axel were still dancing for a while when Roxas and Namine left, and they were soon joined by Riku. The silverette gave a brotherly hug to Axel and nodded at all the rest. Kairi, even though she was hot from all the dancing, felt herself heat up even more when Riku had arrived.
Riku, least to say, was pretty darn sexy on the dance floor. He knew that he was good, and he let himself go, his hips shaking to the heavy beat from the sound system. Kairi's eyes fluttered as she noticed this, and couldn't help glancing at Riku every few seconds.
Blind as Sora was, he was also thirsty. Grabbing a reluctant and flushed Kairi, he dragged her to the drinks table.
"You alright?" he asked, pouring her some punch.
Kairi frowned and said, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." She glanced at the vibed crowd reluctantly. Nevertheless, she sat with Sora and sipped her drink.
"Party's cool, huh?" Sora shouted to her. Kairi nodded. She sat with his legs crossed, one foot jingling, her eyes searching the crowds. She then saw Riku and Axel standing apart from the crowd. Axel had his back facing Kairi, talking in very close quarters with Riku. Riku peered around Axel to look at Kairi with a level gaze. She blushed slightly and turned away. Axel then leaned down close to Riku and whispered in his ear. Riku smiled and started walking to Kairi, leaving Axel smiling and looking at the ceiling.
Riku offered his hand to Kairi, which she promptly took, leaving Sora seething on his lonesome. He watched for a few moments as Riku grabbed Kairi's hips and brought her extremely close to him, their bodies swaying in time to the music, Riku's silver head buried in her neck, Kairi's hands around his neck, leaning her head against Riku's chest. Sora looked at the couple darkly before he stormed out.
Roxas and Namine sat for a couple of hours outside the house, over looking the huge pool. Roxas found himself pleasantly enjoying her company, especially when they were purposefully isolated from the party. As they talked, old feelings for the pale blond resurfaced, and he thought that he wouldn't mind entering a relationship with her. She was a nice enough girl, and he laughed easily when he was around her.
Around 12.30, Namine announced she had to leave. Roxas walked her through the now thoroughly drunk crowd to the front door, passing an interesting battle of Singstar. He kissed her on the cheek and then realised something.
"Hey, what about Kairi?" he called after her.
She waved her cellphone. "She said she'll be coming later."
Roxas nodded and closed the door behind her. Then he made his way to the battle of Singstar. Which wasn't a battle. It was a duet. Riku and Axel were singing something called"If I Didn't Have You" and they were both doing extremely well.
Riku sang mostly the higher register in an amazing falsetto voice that could compete with the actual singer. Axel's tenor voice harmonised with Riku almost effortlessly. They worked splendidly as a team, and they enjoyed themselves thoroughly. The rest of the crowd was too drunk to realise the quality of the singing. Roxas also had a sense that they did this a lot before.
Afterwards, Axel noticed Roxas and went over, slinging an arm around the blond's shoulders. "You been enjoying yourself?" he said in Roxas' ear.
"Yeah, I guess," Roxas replied with a shrug, inserting his hands into his pockets.
Axel looked shocked. "Well, you didn't enjoy the best part!" He steered Roxas to the dance floor when they heard a loud resounding crash. The pair stopped and turned. Sora was sprawled on the floor, an empty bowl of punch on his head.
"Shit," Roxas muttered and ran over to his cousin. "Sor, you okay?" But Sora's words were so badly slurred Roxas couldn't make out head or tail. "Come on, bud," Roxas said, slinging Sora's arm around his shoulder and picking him up. "Let's take you home."
"I don't wanna go!" Sora exclaimed. "Parents...angry."
"Well, then my place," Roxas compensated. Sora seemed to be happy with it as he slumped against Roxas, almost causing the blond to stagger.
"He looks in pretty bad shape," Axel said as he came over to the pair. "Where you going with him?"
"I'm taking him to my place," Roxas replied.
"I'll go with you," Axel said in worried tones. "Help you with a carrying and all."
"Did ya see Riku and Kairi hitting it off?" Axel asked as they walked along the pavement.
"No, not really."
Axel gave a low whistle. "It's not gonna last though," he added. Roxas looked at him over Sora. "Riku's girlfriends don't last a few weeks."
"Hardly surprising," Roxas said, accompanied with an eye roll.
Sora suddenly turned pale.
"Uh oh," Axel and Roxas said in unison. They quickly steered Sora to a nearby garden to do his business.
"Wouldn't think he would actually get drunk," Roxas muttered as they continued to walk.
Axel raised his eyebrows. "From what I get from Sora, he's largely misunderstood. He's probably gone through things that no normal teenager has been through, but he tries to hide it. Most people buy it from the mask of a smile...but I don't." Roxas looked at his cousin. How much they had both changed, how much he had missed. Maybe if Roxas stayed around, they both would be different people. "He's missed you, you know," Axel said to Roxas softly. "Couldn't stop talking about you when he came back from his mom's sabbatical."
Roxas smiled at his cousin, emotion welling up in his throat. "Missed you too, buddy."
They arrived at Roxas' place half an hour later. Axel held Sora as his cousin fumbled with his keys to let them inside.
"Nice place," Axel muttered and he walked in.
Roxas smiled and thanked him. It had vaguely the same open plan setup as Tifa's place, although much bigger. "We have a spare bedroom on the bottom floor," he said. "Sora can overnight there."
After they settled Sora in, switched off his light and closed the door, Axel stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets in the middle of Roxas' living room. "I better go," he said.
"You can stay over if you want," Roxas said quickly. "Just to say...thanks with helping me with Sora. Wouldn't want you to walk all the way back home anyway."
"Serious?"
"Yeah, my couch is comfortable enough."
Axel smiled and thanked him. Together they flopped unceremoniously on the couch.
"Keen for some Xbox?" Roxas asked the red head.
Axel grinned, his pointed canines showing prominently. "Always."
Roxas woke up the next morning, sprawled across Axel. His head was on the red head's chest, Axel's one arm across Roxas' back. Roxas didn't even remember falling asleep.
Slightly embarrassed, Roxas extricated himself from Axel's sleeping form and padded into the kitchen, barefoot, the frayed ends of his jeans trailing after him. He puttered around the counter in order to make fresh coffee. He heard a toilet flush, and soon afterwards, Sora stumbled into the kitchen in a groggy fashion, clutching his head for dear life.
"What happened last night?" Sora groaned, collapsing against the counter.
"Do you really wanna know?" Roxas asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Sora, face in hand, peeked at his cousin through his fingers. "Say it quickly."
"You got incredibly drunk last night and Axel and I had to take you to my place."
Sora groaned. "Axel's here?"
Roxas nodded, pouring fresh coffee into three mugs and handed one to Sora. "He's on the couch. Get more sleep or something. You look like a troll."
Sora mumbled his thanks and stumbled out of the kitchen, mug of coffee in his hands. Roxas shook his head, smiling affectionately. He took the remaining two cups into the lounge. He poked Axel awake and shoved a mug into his hands.
"Have I woken up in heaven?" Axel asked groggily, accepting the cup of joe and taking a good whiff of it.
Roxas raised an eyebrow and turned on the Xbox. Axel chuckled. "It's an old pick up line involving a hot blond and a cup of coffee." He stood up and groaned. "I have a fucking headache."
Roxas looked at the red head. "How much did you have last night."
"Two beers."
Roxas snorted. "Lightweight."
"I know," Axel groaned. "If I have any alcohol, I get a huge headache." He barely opened his eyes to speak, and moved only to take a sip of coffee. "Sick cuppa coffee tho, Roxie."
"Thanks," Roxas grumbled.
"What time is it?"
"Nine."
"Fuuuuuck."
"Where's the other remote?" Roxas asked.
"Fuck, I don't know." Axel had now looked a lot fresher after Roxas goaded him into showering.
"You had it last," Roxas said pointedly.
"I don't remember," Axel said with a shrug.
"And here you tell everyone to get it memorised," Roxas said with an explosive sigh. "Fucking hypocrite."
"I'm like that," Axel said, grinning.
"Damn skippy."
So for the next few minutes, the boys searched the entire house for the bloody control. It seemed hopeless until eventually:
"I found it!" Axel exclaimed triumphantly from the kitchen.
"Where was it?" Roxas said, entering.
"In the fridge," Axel replied casually.
"The hell?" Roxas exclaimed.
"I got distracted by all this food. Speaking of which..."
Roxas rolled his eyes, snatched the control from Axel and flopped back on the couch. The red head followed a few minutes later, with a huge sandwich.
"So, Roxie, can I asked you something?"
Roxas shrugged, attention on the screen.
"Who do you like?"
That caused Roxas to stutter a little. It wouldn't be such an amazing idea to tell Axel that he was growing on him. Besides, like he thought earlier in the week, very square hole, very round peg. Or was it the other way around...damn. He soon got distracted by Axel's slouched form, and his mind flashed to how it moved on the dance floor the night before.
"Namine," Roxas then replied off-handedly.
Axel made a noise. "And here I thought you were gay."
Roxas wondered how the red head got to that conclusion so quickly. "I'm bisexual."
"Oh?" Axel's voice piqued with interest. Roxas then felt his presence incredibly close to him. Roxas turned to see Axel's face within kissing distance. "Tell me, Roxas," Axel said softly into Roxas' ear. "Have you ever felt pleasure from a man?"
Roxas kept silent, his heart pounding and his breath seemingly cut short. To be in such proximity with a guy like Axel...Roxas wasn't sure how he could control himself for much longer...
Until Sora burst into the room with renewed energy, "Ooo Xbox!" he exclaimed. "What are you guys playing?"
Axel quickly withdrew, looking slightly disappointed. Roxas was inwardly relieved, if not ruffled and flustered too. He fought hard to keep his body in control. Luckily Sora placed himself in between Axel and Roxas.
"Hey, so you gonna tell me why you went crazy last night?" Roxas asked his cousin as he handed him the fridge-control and Axel resumed consuming his giant sandwich.
Sora looked downcast. "I think it had to do with Kairi." Roxas frowned, but didn't say anything, a sign to keep his cousin talking. "I really liked her, guys. Like, ever since I came back I realised how pretty she was and stuff. It was even more awesome when she liked hockey as much as I did." He moodily started creating his profile. "But then, Riku, the friggin' water-polo god went and stole her...I don't have a chance with her any more."
Axel opened his mouth to say something, but Roxas shot a warning glance at the red head anyway. Axel cocked his head and had a this-will-help-him-i-promise look. Roxas rolled his eyes. "Listen, Sor. Riku doesn't have girls for more an a week or two. Kairi will be so upset, she'll run to you and then she'll be putty in your hands."
Sora shook his head. "But I'm nothing compared to Riku. That guy is the bar for her now. He's a water-polo god. And I'm some stupid hockey player..."
Ah, shit, Roxas thought to himself. He grabbed the control from Sora to prevent him from making an emo profile and said, "Listen, all you need now is good food, gaming, and us. And stay away from the drink, okay. You scared me there, buddy."
Sora smiled weakly at his cousin. "Thanks guys. This means a lot."
"Bu' I did nuffin'," Axel protested through a bite of his sandwich, lettuce poking out of his mouth.
Sora laughed and everything was all right again.
The ending line is intentional, by the way :). Because it's kind of 'Disney'/Winnie the Pooh like and I just needed to add that innocence again.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's not the greatest I know, but the next one is about 9 pages long. Packed full of drama and stuff:).
I will be gone for the holidays for two weeks, but I will have my stuff with me, so I will update as frequently as possible :).
Thanks for reading and PLEASE review! Cos then more chapters will follow:).
Signing off:
Caneater.