YES. YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE. I'VE FINISHED ACT 2. WHAT. AND IT'S 10, 000 WORDS APPRX. YES, I'M COMPLETELY INSANE.

Heh, yes. Maybe I've made it way too long, you guys tell me. In case people are being informed for the first time, this is a rewrite, and some of the events are different, so it's up to you if you want to go back and reread the previous updates, though I think that could be asking too much from the readers who caught CD along its first stages. You guys give me your opinions! Pretty please?

Also, I'll probably be finishing this whole story (Act III, Act IV, Act V, and Afterword, also in Zexion's POV) by the end of this year, hopefully towards mid-December. I promise to give you guys my best, always! Much love to those who reviewed! I appreciate all the encouraging praise (insert hugs). And also, special mention goes to Duchess Elda who guessed first on the chapter title(s) as the lyrics to Fall Out Boy's Don't You Know Who I Think I Am (which is going to be the song Demyx and his makeshift band are going to perform!). YOU WIN TEN INTERNETS, DEAR. A-and also, my love and undying affection (insert heart). Onto the story!

Carpe Diem

Seize the day. In my words, "Victory before insanity." That's what Zexion thought when Demyx had the brilliant idea to set Axel up with Roxas Caine.

- - -

Act II: A Penny For Your Thoughts

(September 1, 2007)

Freshman Year, Trinity High School, Hollow Bastion

It was a nice afternoon on the first day of school for the freshman students of Trinity High School. The first day of high school should have been hectic, wearisome, and stressful, but most found the ambience of the large, gothic style buildings to be quite warm and welcoming. Since there wasn't to be too much activity considering the day was a sort of introduction to all students, old and new, everyone just breezed through their assigned classes, where the teacher's talked thoroughly about their courses, expectations, etc. It was around one o'clock in the afternoon, and the bell had just rung to signal that fourth period was about to begin. It was the kind of slow tolling that echoed out onto the campus grounds, conveying a tender baritone that, as it rung, gave you a feeling of warmth. Almost like church bells in a way.

Axel Kashou, with his longtime friend Riku St. Mark, was heading towards room 201 for Literature. The schedule sheet said that their Literature class was supposedly held at room 304 on a regular basis, but some repairs were being done, so they had been reassigned to 201, the classroom used by the freshman Honours Literature class. No doubt they were going to run into Zexion, Lord Valedictorian, because their friend had taken honours for all his classes. Axel was smart and could have gone for honours, too, as well as Riku, but they had other commitments, and taking a class that guaranteed them a good failing streak wasn't exactly a wise choice.

Taking a flight of steps down to the second floor, the two incredibly tall freshman students made their way down the wide corridor to the right of the stairwell. The room numbers hung adjacent to the classroom doors in black embossed numbers.

"Well, I don't see Zexion," Riku muttered, weaving through a group of junior girls, who glanced over their shoulders at Axel and Riku, giggling as they hurried to their own class. Axel raised his brows as he observed them out of the corner of his eye. They were barely here a day and already the women were taking notice. Not a bad record, but he didn't mention it to Riku. No doubt the silver-haired boy had noticed already, probably before Axel himself did.

"You know him," Axel replied, bumping shoulders with a smaller freshman as they passed room 203, 201 being all the way down the corridor. "Zexion probably went to his next class already. I think he has Chemistry."

Riku gave Axel a look of surprise. "Chemistry? But he's only a freshman. Shouldn't he be taking General Science like the rest of us?"

Axel rolled his eyes and gave his friend a deadpan look. "It's Zexion, for god's sake. Naturally the school's going to tolerate spoiling him a little. He got a hundred percent on the entrance exam - they're not going to refuse him from a class that he's obviously going to pass better than most of the seniors' averages combined."

Riku snorted as if to chastise himself for forgetting just how much of a genius Zexion Consilium was. "Right-o. It almost slipped my mind how big his head actually is."

The two shared a chuckle, knowing the statement went in more than two directions.

They weaved through the crowd of students, and in a couple of moments they reached the doors to room 201. Axel noticed that there were people blocking the doorway, and there was no other way to get inside unless they pushed through.

"Hey, c'mon," Riku said under his breath, trying to find any way he could get through the blockage without hurting anybody. He attempted squeezing in between two people, who turned out to be girls, and just like that he was caught in the middle of the barricade as the females - Axel noticed that they were seniors - endeavoured a conversation with him. They were soon joined by several others, which made Riku's popularity even more transparent - and annoying. Also at this point, access to room 201's doors was far from possible. There were just too many girls (Where did they come from, anyway?).

Deciding to abandon S.S. Civility, Axel grabbed Riku by the arm as the boy tried to answer a rather awkward question asked by one of the women. Shoving and pushing through the stagnant throng of people, he immediately decided that his actions were very justified, if someone happened to ask him about it. If the teacher received complaints that Axel was abusing his fellow students with teeny little shoves here and there, it was a simple matter of replying, "Well, Mr. Some Such Name, they weren't moving. It was like bulldozing through the Great Wall, so what choice did I have? I could never forgive myself for being late to a class on the first day."

Axel could lie easily through his teeth, but really, that wasn't entirely untrue. If people didn't get out of the way as soon as possible, there was no guarantee that his patience was going to hold.

As he made his way inside the classroom, nearly halfway through the protesting crowd, one senior boy dared to comment as he was hit in the chest by a random elbow.

"Watch it, kid!" he yelled, glaring in annoyance at Axel.

The redhead turned around, raising a brow sardonically at the brave soul who just spoke to him. "If you don't want to get hit, then I suggest you and your little posse haul ass before I personally start kicking some out."

There were a couple of oooohs, but Axel didn't stop to see the reaction of whoever-he-was and continued to demolish his way into the room. Less people commented this time after the verbal backlash the first protestor had received, but there were still a few who muttered impolite comments to themselves.

"Ah, just a sec- Ow, hey!"

Someone smaller bumped into Axel, and the redhead stumbled a little because of the unexpected force, sending Riku sprawling backwards, but he was then fortunately caught by a couple of his new female admirers. The redhead scowled, straightening himself, ready to glare at whoever it was that yet again deterred him from getting to class. Some very harsh and biting words were on the tip of his tongue, and he was just about ready to vent, having had quite enough of people getting in the way. He looked up, and Axel honestly thought for a second that someone shot him in the foot.

Standing right in front of him was … well, he didn't know who it was, but the blond was definitely something. He couldn't put a finger on it, knowing that he had seen more beautiful people before in his life. A couple of models made a pass on him while he and his friends were walking by a runway at the mall a few weeks ago. They were all hot, and Demyx even got a few phone numbers at Axel's expense, but none of them hit him in the gut like this one did. His gaze took in moderately light-tan skin, an array of spiked blond hair, and most shocking of all the features were a pair of blue eyes. They were the exact same colour of the sky - or the ocean. He couldn't tell.

Axel didn't know why. The kid looked quite normal to him, but something about those eyes knocked the breath clear out of his lungs. And the painful feeling he had gotten in his foot was still there. Huh. Maybe he'd actually been struck by lightning, because this felt slightly unreal.

It was merely moments after that when Axel realized that the blond angel that was soon to star in all his erotic dreams had just dropped a hard bound copy of A History of the World on his right foot when they had collided. Which explained why the bullet-through-my-fourth-metatarsal-bone feeling wasn't leaving him alone.

"OH, SON OF A BITCH."

That was when Axel Kashou first bumped into Roxas Caine.

Literally.

(October 8, 2008: Monday)

Wincing at the recollection of a humiliating yet oddly fond memory, Axel frowned, resting his cheek against his hand. They were supposed to be doing something for Health today, but the teacher had yet to show in his own classroom. And so the occupants of room 207 were scattered about the desks and chairs, chattering away with one another.

Axel pursed his lips, caught in a sentiment that felt like boredom, or maybe a hint of curiosity mingled with irritation. When he had "bumped" into Roxas the first time it had been like dying then getting a glimpse of heaven, only to plummet to the legions of hell and beyond. That textbook of his had been abnormally heavy, and had resulted in a bruise on Axel's right foot. Although, in some hilariously ironic fashion, Axel had to thank the cruel fates for injuring him on an otherwise perfect day. Roxas had apologized a multitude of times for the mishap, stricken by panic and unwarranted guilt, and Axel had told him in between gritted teeth that he was okay, and that the swelling would subside in a couple of weeks (if it ever did subside at all, he had thought in pain). That pathetic excuse of a conversation was the first of very few for the two of them, all because of Roxas' book. But in a way, Axel was grateful for the accursed thing. If it didn't make the mistake of landing on his foot, Axel had no doubt in mind that without pain to bring him to reality, he would have proposed to Roxas right then and there. And boy would that have been embarrassing.

But still, part of him whined mournfully. Maybe if he did propose to Roxas, there could have been a chance - even 0.0001 percent in the very least - that he could have said yes. And if his fantasy did in fact come true and he and Roxas got married and lived a happily ever after, Axel wouldn't be sitting in a desk more than a year after it all started, wondering about what could have happened.

A year's worth of unrequited adoration, he thought darkly, cursing the blue skies right outside the classroom windows. How pathetic.

Of course, Axel acknowledged the fact that there was no one else to blame but himself. In that one-year span of time, in not one second did he attempt to win Roxas over. Call him a dickless coward if you will, but at the time Axel seemed way too busy thinking things like "He's way too perfect," "I wonder if he notices me at all?" or even, "What would Roxas look like in a sun dress?"

Ah, the woes of a hormone-driven teenage mind.

Feeling for no good reason as if the world was conspiring for his demise, Axel glowered down at the school grounds from the classroom windows. He could never count the times wherein he'd fantasized about Roxas. He couldn't number how many times he had turned to stare at the boy only to look away for dread of being caught. Axel couldn't even begin to add up how many times the mere sight of Roxas brightened his day. But he could count how many conversations they'd had together on one hand. It wasn't exactly what one would call balanced. In fact, it was so frustrating to the point of being unhealthy.

Conversation Number One had occurred when they had met, and it wasn't very fond to recall.

"Oh, GOD! I'm sorry! I swear, I didn't mean it, I was just passing by - god, what am I saying? Are you okay? Are you bleeding? Do you need to go to the clinic?" Roxas had half shouted in a fluster of panic.

Axel gritted his teeth, trying to hide the excruciating pain with a smile. Unfortunately, the grin only came out as an awkward attempt at flexing his cheek muscles and the redhead didn't look much happier than a child going to the dentist. "No … s'okay. Don't worry. I can-" Grunt. "Handle this."

It wasn't very pretty.

And while Roxas did help him to the nurse's office, Riku just so happened to be there as well. And how was Axel to tell the blond angel just how much of a godsend he really was when his best friend was oh so conveniently located within the vicinity? Within earshot? The ass wouldn't let him live it down if he started singing sonnets because of this one kid.

And thus, the following week Conversation Number Two happened. Axel was still in the phase of recovering from his foot bruise, and he could walk without limping now. By that time, he had learned as much as he could about Roxas without being too obvious. He looked like a kid because he was younger than Axel by a year. He was only in high school because of advanced placement, and he took honours with Zexion. At that discovery, Axel began cursing his fate. He knew he should have taken honours.

He had been venting about this one day in study period, with Demyx as his only semblance of support because Riku had been gallivanting elsewhere at the time.

"I should have taken the same classes …" he mourned, glaring down at his unopened textbook. "My mother told me to. And I didn't listen."

Demyx had patted his shoulder with genuine concern. By that time, he already knew of Axel's impossible infatuation with Roxas, and thus was the one and only confidante on the matter. He said, "Cheer up! You could always just say hi in the hallways. I've talked to him a couple of times, and he seems really nice!"

Axel gave Demyx a deadpan look. "You don't know me at all, do you?" Sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, the redhead considered calming down. "I hate Zexion. No offence meant since you're his best friend, but I really fuckin' hate him."

"Why's that? Zexion seems pretty nice."

Axel had stiffened, recognizing the voice in an instant. He had turned around slowly to see Roxas standing behind him and Demyx, innocently holding a few sheets of paper in his hand, unaware of the topic of conversation a couple of seconds before he arrived.

The redhead feigned casualness, despite the irrational urge to leap from his chair and smother Roxas with a loving hug. "Hey, it's you again. Come to drop another book on my other foot this time?" he spoke, his cocky grin suggesting that he was only joking.

The blond blushed, then laughed nervously. "Yeah … I'm still really sorry about that. Feeling better?"

Axel smiled widely. "Much better." Now that you're here, he would have added, but that would have sent the boy running for the hills.

"Ah, well, that'll help me sleep at night. Anyway, I did ask why you hate Zexion. He seems really nice."

Axel shrugged. Because he's in every single one of your classes, a privilege that I would kill for? Deciding not to voice the truth, the redhead simply vied for a more believable lie. "Well, I don't exactly hate him - he's one of my best buddies. It's just that he got that sound system that I really wanted before I did."

Roxas laughed, making Axel's stomach leap a couple of times. "Ah, I see. Let me congratulate him later, then. As for you, good luck on that. Axel, right?"

His heart started doing jumping jacks. "Gee, how'd you guess?" he asked, smirking. "Yeah, I'm Axel. And you're Roxas - the person whom I'll always remember as the one who tried to maim my foot."

Smiling good naturedly, Roxas had crossed his arms over his chest. "Never gonna let that one go, will you?"

Axel had chanced a wink at him. "As long as my foot tingles in recollection every time I see you."

Conversation Number Two was definitely an improvement compared to Conversation Number One. Unfortunately after that blissful exchange at the library, the chaotic nature of high school made its actual appearance. September rolled by, then October, and before Axel knew it January had arrived without so much as a third encounter with Roxas. Even if Axel wasn't in the honours classes, the amount of work, reports, projects, and tests was incredibly blistering, so he could only surmise how busy it was for Roxas. Eventually, March made its way around the block, and Axel was beginning to feel extremely deprived of his blond angel. Not that Roxas belonged to him to begin with, but things were easier if Axel dreamed (just a little).

It was towards the end of soccer season, somewhere between April and June when Conversation Number Three happened. Axel had been waiting for a couple of friends outside the locker rooms after their school had won the boys' soccer championship. Zexion was with him at the time, but the two didn't talk much aside from the occasional "So … how was that Math test yesterday?" and, "Oh … yeah, it was good. Pretty easy." Which would be followed by, "… I see."

Zexion wasn't much of a talker, not unless Demyx was with him, but even then he still didn't interact much with other people. Axel didn't mind so much, because at the time he was way too excited to even pay attention to anything else. This could have been because of Trinity's consecutive victory over their rival school, Zantetsuken. Or maybe because there was going to be free pizza for the team afterwards, and he and the other tag-alongs would get shares. But no. It was because Roxas was on the soccer team and in less than five minutes he would be running out of the locker rooms into Axel's awaiting embrace.

Or maybe that had just been him.

When the team headed towards their awaiting crew of friends and supporters, cheering and friendly banter erupted in the hallway. Axel paid the chatter no mind, because he immediately spotted Roxas amidst the group. He casually conversed with other people, slowly and subtly making his way over to the blond.

Once within unsuspicious vicinity of the boy, Axel placed a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of congratulations (and also as a pathetic and subtle excuse to touch Roxas). "Hey there, kiddo. Good game back there," he said with his confident grin.

Roxas looked up at Axel and beamed in recognition. "Oh, you were watching? Heh, thanks. Did you see the goal I made in the second half?"

Axel laughed in genuine amusement, having witnessed the epic moment the blond was talking about. "How can I forget? You went skidding across the grass like a broken go-cart."

"Not to mention I knocked five other guys down after that," beamed Roxas.

Axel smirked. "Three out of those five were your team mates though. And last I recall, this was soccer, not football."

"Hey, mistakes happen," Roxas said in fake indignation, still smiling.

As the two walked side by side amongst their small crowd of friends, Roxas adjusted his hold on his duffel bag, looking up at Axel with bright amusement in his sky-blue eyes. "Am I forgiven yet for 'attempted mutilation' of your foot?" he asked, wide grin an indication mirth.

Axel hummed to himself for a moment, pretending to take this into consideration as he put a hand to his chin. "Well … let me think. It's been, what, eight months since then? And my right foot still tingles every time you're near - trauma, I think. Should I forgive you just yet? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't …"

Roxas mock-frowned as he gestured towards his heart. "You hit right here. I'm awfully wounded. However am I going to sleep at night these days knowing that you don't have it in your heart to forgive and forget?"

The redhead grinned down at the blond. "Aw, what the heck? If you put it that way, I'd feel bad. Don't want our Rox suffering sleep deprivation because he's too guilty to get some shut-eye, now do we?"

Axel had ruffled Roxas' hair at that, and the blond had protested rather half-heartedly, but again like most of their other (two) conversations, Number Three ended quite shortly right after it began. Roxas was dragged away by his posse and his team mates, and Axel was pulled away by his own crowd, and even if the two groups did stay with each other, Axel couldn't find seconds to spare for a private conversation as they headed to the downtown mall.

And so freshman year came and went, and Axel had only three decent conversations to remember Roxas by. When junior year started, they didn't so much as see each other within the fleeting days. Presently, Axel sat in his seat by the classroom window, awaiting the arrival of their occasionally late Health teacher. In his boredom, he began rating his conversations with Roxas in his head.

My Conversations With Roxas On A Scale Of 1 to 100

Conversation Number One: -80

Conversation Number Two: 100.999999

Conversation Number Three: Googolplex.

Now that didn't really make much sense, since none of the ratings corresponded well with the scale he had decided on.

Axel shrugged to himself, not finding the heart to care. Glancing out the window, he spotted a group of boys out on the field for gym class. He observed them idly, not really caring since there wasn't much to do in the first place, but his heart leapt a couple of inches than what was considered healthy when he spotted a familiar array of blond hair.

It was Roxas' gym class.

Confused for a moment, Axel turned to look towards Zexion who was seated with Demyx not too far away, wondering why he wasn't out there with the boy of Axel's dreams, then realized that after freshman year, the genius didn't take gym anymore. Returning his attention to the now pleasant view below, Axel watched intently as the boys began to do stretching exercises. His breath hitched when Roxas bent down to touch his toes, giving the redhead an excellent view of his-

Axel slapped himself mentally, feeling like a pervert.

Completely unaware of Axel's mental battle of "To look or not to look? That is the problem," Zexion and Demyx conversed with each other about their secret and potentially dangerous scheme.

"So you got both Axel and Roxas to agree. What of it now?" Zexion asked, obviously more than sceptical and apprehensive towards this whole ordeal.

Demyx put a finger to his lips, hissing. "Shh! We don't use their names if you want all of this to stay secret!" the blond scolded, giving Zexion the offending feeling that somehow this all pointed back to him (which it did).

The shorter boy frowned sternly and unhappily at Demyx as he leaned his hip against Demyx's desk. "What, pray tell, do we use in place of names, then?" he asked as Demyx lounged in his chair.

"Well, I decided to call Axel His Highness," Demyx chuckled giddily to himself, "you know, that nickname we gave him a long time ago when he used to get really mad? Anyway, you-know-who's code name is Ladylove."

There was a pause.

"Demyx, that is demeaning to his masculinity. I feel sorry for the poor boy …"

The blond began to wave his hands around as he explained, obviously delighted about the story behind his absurd code names. "No, no! It's just because this reminded me of that one time I watched a movie, and it was kinda freakishly similar, so I decided that, 'Hey, since this is all so similar to that movie, maybe I should-"

Zexion clamped a hand over Demyx's mouth, his face deadpan. "Forget I said anything. Just … forget it." Rubbing his temples as he withdrew his appendage, the slate-haired boy mulled over the situation. "Your ridiculous nickname-giving aside, won't it be way too obvious once rehearsals start? Axel's not stu-"

"Code names!" Demyx chimed in a whisper.

A vein pulsed on Zexion's head. "No."

"But Zexion … do you know how long it took me to think of them?" Puppy-dog eyes.

Crap. The vein throbbed violently, a prominent blue on Zexion's pale skin.

He sighed in resignation. "Fine. His Highness isn't stupid. He's going to figure it out in moments flat." Zexion paused, giving Demyx a grim look. "And he knows where you live. That's not a good thing."

Demyx dismissed the ominous statement with a wave of his hand, shrugging. "He told me last year that he's over Ladylove-" Zexion had to wince, "-but it was so obvious that he was lying. I pretended to play along just because, and His Highness already thinks that I'm not that smart. I'll just say, 'Oh, he's the best bass guitar player I know-' which is true, 'and I thought you were over him now?' It's easy, Zexion! This is for His Highness' own good, whether he likes it in the beginning or not."

Zexion grimaced. Demyx, are you aware of just how evil you can be sometimes?

Deciding that the answer had to be a no, Zexion knew better than to voice the question. It would raise others that he would rather not deal with.

"So, phase one and two are a go," Zexion started, sitting on Demyx's desk, arms crossed. "Mind explaining phase three again?"

Demyx grinned widely. "Phase three starts during lunch. Here's the plan, just to be sure …"

(still October 8, 2008: Lunch)

Zexion blinked. He tried blinking again, but it didn't do any good. A couple of times more didn't provide any reprieve from the disbelieving sight. He rubbed at his grey eyes, but that didn't improve his vision any better. What he saw was actually real, and he couldn't quite find it in him to believe it. Demyx Diluvia, the most air headed person he was associated to, could actually create a behavioural observation and, despite the inanity, it provided great detail and supporting evidence of Demyx's subject matter.

Lunch had started out pretty normal for the most part, Zexion following Demyx here and there as he socialized with most of the people in the room, greeting even those he wasn't acquainted with. Demyx had a lot of friends, Zexion was reminded. And for a moment, he had to wonder why, out of the vast crowd, did he acquire the coveted role of best friend for this idiot? He really had to wonder. Really.

Once the two of them reached their usual table with their other junior friends, Demyx greeted them all with his usually cheery, "Hey, guys! How's life?"

Axel and Riku were already seated in their usual spots, right across Demyx and Zexion. Riku appeared to be showing Axel a note, and Zexion caught a glimpse of the sheet. It seemed to have suffered the dreaded fate of being studded with pink and blue hearts in random places. The slate-haired boy eyed a particularly offensive spelling error, and looked at Riku and Axel above his lunch of rice, teriyaki chicken, and a small salad. The two were barely controlling their sniggers and chuckles as they read the letter to themselves.

When they finished, the two burst out laughing, wiping tears away from their eyes. Riku waved the sheet in front of Zexion's face, explaining in between guffaws, "Gippal … got this note from … girl who's crushing on him. It's so deranged."

At that, Axel nearly fell out of his seat, clutching at his sides from too much laughter.

Zexion had looked over the note then passed it on to other curious people at their table, unable to bear such abuse of grammar and punctuation. It was at this point when everyone was too busy laughing when Demyx caught Zexion's attention.

"You say you're doubtful about our whole plan," the blond asked, smug grin set in place. "Well, I have solid proof, Zexion Consilium, that it has a fighting chance of working." With that, Demyx pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding it up to Zexion's face. "It all comes down to this observation. Mark my words, everything there is as accurate as a calculator."

Wary about Demyx's calculator analogy, Zexion nevertheless opened the immaculately neat sheet, and began to read. Which leads us to his current state of disbelief.

Monday, October 1st

We are currently seated by each other in Literature, and I notice that His Highness is quite unhappy with me. I think this is due to the fact that back in History, someone brave had dared to comment on his Ladylove. Quote: "He's seriously cute and has the nicest piece of ass on this side of the planet. I'd go out with him in a heartbeat."

I assure you, Dear Reader, that I was not involved with the verbal beat-down that followed, courtesy of His Highness. Then again, it may or may not have been my fault that the aforementioned comment had let slip in the first place. As long as this doesn't reach His Highness' ears, then I'm good.

Tuesday, October 2nd

Ladylove just so happened to pass by in the hallway, surrounded by his entourage of loyal associates. Which may or may not have caused His Highness to slam into both lockers 305 and 306, and somehow 310.

Wednesday, October 3rd

Another brave sir comments on Ladylove today, Dear Reader! I shall not quote here, however, because the content was surprisingly graphic and explicit.

Which would explain why the poor fellow found himself accidentally in the girls' locker room right after swim practice.

I may or may not have been involved with what was said.

Thursday, October 4th

It has come to my attention that Ladylove has joined the Sports Teams Management Committee. I may or may not have implied to His Highness that morning that he walk by the field after track. Sure enough, every team manager is present on the field. Unfortunately, so is the football team. Which only succeeded in landing a hit to His Highness' face from a very bad throw. What can only be worse than an actual football practice is football tryouts.

How His Highness couldn't manage to dodge a throw worthy of Sports' Most Unwanted, is beyond me. Maybe because of certain "distractions" perhaps …?

Friday, October 5th

Today, His Highness has had a terrible accident, which landed him in the school clinic, with half a pack of cotton shoved up his nose from severe bleeding. Perhaps because we caught a glimpse of the boys' swim team? Ah, I see. Because Lady Love is now on said swim team.

Zexion had only been vaguely aware of Axel's arbitrary mishaps of last week, having been busy with Demyx's constant attempts at trying to drive the idiot insane. The fact that his best friend had been juggling this experiment along with driving Axel into a corner was beyond him. Demyx wasn't the smart type … or was he?

Zexion shuddered at mere thought of what went on in that head of his.

Discreetly handing Demyx back the sheet, Zexion gave him a weary, disbelieving stare. "And … this is your proof that … His Highness most certainly is still hung up over Ladylove?"

Demyx grinned widely. "Fo sho."

Zexion couldn't resist the urge to smack his forehead. Gangster was not Demyx. It just wasn't. In a universe where all underwear flew across the sky in Teletubbies formation, yes, most likely. But not on sane Earth soil, no.

Before he could tell him this for future reference, however, Demyx had already turned his attention elsewhere. The blond was trying to catch Axel's attention, who was busy still laughing at the love letter Gippal had received.

"And, and this one part says," he said giddily, "Oh, Gippal, I don't want you. I NEED you. That's so hilarious!" In response, the occupants of the table burst into guffaws. Riku fell off his seat.

Gippal, at the very end of the table, scowled, pocketing the now abused love note that he had received from a freshman girl who was obsessed with him. "It's actually pretty scary you guys. Not flattering at all," he said, mouth set in a grim line.

Zexion rolled his eyes at the childishness of his so called friends, turning his attention to Demyx who was still trying to get Axel to look at him. "Axel, Axel, Axel. Axel. Axe-"

"What, Demyx?" the redhead asked, not so much irritated as a tiny bit annoyed.

Demyx beamed brightly. "Don't forget rehearsals later in room 408."

Axel gave him a cheerful smile of his own. "Oh, thanks for reminding me for the thousandth time, Demyx. Next time my Alzheimer's kicks in, I'll appreciate it."

Riku got up from the floor, chuckling as he sat next to Axel. "Ouch, Dem. You just got dissed."

The blond stuck his tongue out at the two across the table, calling them none too flattering names. Zexion rolled his eyes. Ah, the woes of teenage life.

Axel, quite honestly, didn't want to be annoyed at Demyx. He could understand that the incidents of last week were partially his fault because, hey, he could tell when he was being an ass. He regretted not agreeing to Demyx earlier on when the damage could have been salvageable. He had told Demyx this, and that was as close as Axel got to an actual apology. After all, he wasn't the only one to blame for the fact that half the school population thought that the two of them were having some sort of comical love affair. The excitement about that still hadn't died down, and Axel still felt like slamming his head against a wall repeatedly every time he opened his locker. It still smelled like roses.

Now was the day for the first of many rehearsals for the talent show. Demyx hadn't explained in clear detail just what exactly they were going to be doing, except that Axel had to play a song accompanied by the rest of a band, and Demyx was going to enter the show as a singer. Axel's backing vocals and the accompanying instruments were only there to serve as an image boost. It was so like Demyx to be obsessive about details.

Axel, in some crazy way, understood Demyx's fixation to win that darned contest. Marluxia Belgravia, a senior, had always been Demyx's rival in all things performing arts. The two were always at each other's throats when it came to these kinds of things, ever since Marluxia received the role of Lysander in their sixth grade play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Demyx had been the understudy, and he never could find it in his usually jovial heart to forgive Marluxia for that intentional blow. Axel had heard the usually passive Demyx spew none too gentle words about the flamboyant senior, and in all honesty, Axel didn't like him either.

A prime reason being that Marluxia's close gal pal, Larxene, had once sought him out as an object of affection. The ordeal had been hell, and Axel had emerged both victim and victor with too many mental scars to count. Now he and the blonde were in a lasting hate relationship that was surely mutual on both sides.

Demyx had now gone on ahead to room 408 to set up their equipment, check the sheet music, some such things. He had told Axel to follow as soon as he finished his lunch, and Axel saw no reason to be late and prolong the misery. At least if he was on time to their first rehearsal, Demyx probably wouldn't give him as much grief as opposed to if he was tardy.

Finishing up his lunch and stealing a sip of Pepsi from Zexion's soda can, the redhead disposed of his garbage properly before heading towards the main stairwell of THS. He knew the fastest route to room 408, and that was if he took the west stairwell up until the fourth floor. The hallways were quiet at this time of day, being that majority of students were all in the lunchroom. Axel was grateful for the silence, appreciating how his shoes thumped dully against the stone steps. He was well on his way to the third floor - only four more steps - when he caught sight of someone atop the landing. His heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second before speeding up to a marathon-worthy pace.

It was Roxas.

Axel almost lost his footing, and if he had it was a sure tumble down that stairwell, and it would not only be painful but horribly embarrassing.

Reigning decent control over his equilibrium, he glanced up, meeting the gaze of blue eyes. He ran a mental check on himself, making sure that he was presentable, and that his face wasn't too truthful in showing that, yes, he was beyond happy that this blessed fate had been bestowed on him on this fine day. And he was more grateful that his mouth in question was devoid of the irrational impulse to propose marriage right then and there.

Smiling casually, he continued up the stairs, noticing that Roxas was smiling in return, greeting him, "Hi, Axel. Wasn't expecting to see you here."

The redhead stopped when he was right in front of the blond, shrugging. He had to try his utmost to remain calm and refrain from unnecessary comments about Roxas, like how he looked wonderful in the lighting, how his hair seemed so golden, that he looked like an angel sent from the heavens, anything to that embarrassing extent. He would bite off his own tongue if he had to.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you either," he said, putting his hands inside his sweater pockets (most likely an attempt to keep himself from fidgeting). "Actually, I wasn't expecting to see anyone, really. What brings you here?"

Roxas shrugged, and the two fell in step side by side as they made their way to the fourth floor. "I have this thing with a friend. You?"

"Same I guess." Axel had to restrain a nervous chuckle. Their exchange sounded so absurdly normal, and yet in some ironic way he preferred it over anything else. "Anyway, what have you been up to these days? It seems like I haven't seen you in a while." Their ascent up the stairs seemed unusually slow.

"Well," Roxas began, "there isn't much that's new. Same old, same old, I guess. Though it looks like you have your share of news to handle." And by this, they both knew, Roxas meant the fiasco of last week that had resulted in the humiliating conclusion that Axel and Demyx were an (odd) item.

Axel turned red, feeling the heat creep past his ears. "Well …" he muttered, honestly contemplating the temptation of throwing Demyx off the highest point of the school building. "That was a complete misunderstanding," he stated flippantly, trying to save his maimed dignity. "Demyx was just making complete asses out of the both of us - I was dragged into the whole thing. Whatever you're hearing these days is a complete lie."

He turned to look at Roxas and was surprised to see the blond grinning in a manner that could have been pitying or amused. Either way, it made Axel die a little inside.

"I was just kidding, Axel," Roxas laughed, patting the redhead consolingly on the arm. "Almost everyone knows what really happened, and it's only a running joke that you guys are dating each other." Axel felt the rest of him crumble to pathetic bits. "No one actually thinks it's true, you know."

Feeling reassured, if slightly mortified, Axel let out an inaudible breath that he had been holding. So people thought it was a joke. Well if that wasn't a saving grace, he didn't know what was. Be that as it may, joke or no joke, he would rather not have his object of affection thinking he was totally, utterly gay for one of his best friends. It just wasn't an image that he promoted, least of all within Roxas' eyes. Oh, those wonderful blue eyes.

Shaking himself to a state that was as close to calm as he could go, Axel laughed somewhat sheepishly, stopping his hands from fidgeting. "Well that's a relief," he said, glancing slightly at Roxas. "I really don't want certain people to get the wrong idea." Mainly you, you clueless little angel.

"Why's that?" Roxas asked, lips branching out into a grin. "In all honesty, Demyx isn't so bad. He's kind of cool, if in an odd way."

Axel's eye twitched slightly, some sort of involuntary reaction to god knew what - maybe the fact that his lovely Roxas, his Roxas, was actually suggesting that he go out with Demyx Diluvia, one of the biggest idiots on the planet. Who also happened to feel like his surrogate brother, more often that not.

He snorted, looking at Roxas with partial disbelief. "Are you kidding me, Rox? That would be incest even if I think about it. Demyx is like my little brother, and I don't have those kinds of interests."

Roxas looked at him, blue eyes widening slightly. "Oh, so you're not into guys at all?"

Axel nearly tripped down the stairs, but only managed to raise his brows as high as they would go (breaking his bones didn't seem an appropriate response to that question at all). "Well … I'm bisexual, if that's what you're wondering," he said honestly, rubbing the back of his neck, wondering if this was such an appropriate topic to be discussing with a person he'd been pining after for such a long amount of time. Deciding to abandon that query for a more convenient occasion, Axel added, "And you know, even if I was completely and totally gay - which I'm not - Demyx wouldn't be on top of my wanted list, if you know what I mean."

Roxas laughed, staring at him with amusement as they continued their trek up the stairs. "Oh? And who would be on top of your list?"

Feeling slightly overconfident, the redhead winked at the blond flirtatiously. "You?" He made it sound like a joke, but at least he wasn't lying. Though parts of Axel were torn in a war on whether or not he wanted Roxas to catch onto the drift at all.

The blond laughed, and Axel decided that it was safe to assume that he had taken it as a joke.

"Well, considering that I'm also bisexual," Roxas began, "doesn't that work out fine?"

This time, Axel did trip over his own feet.

Or he wish he had.

Casually, he laughed alongside Roxas, as if this was all some sort of casual banter between buddies, when in actuality part of him wanted the conversation to be real. As in … some sort of confession, maybe. Axel knew that he didn't know Roxas entirely enough to move on to that, but a year's worth of waiting could make a person impatient. Considering that, however, Axel didn't show any sign that he was at all serious about this pretend-joke of his.

"But seriously, though," he said, after their laughter had died down. Axel eyed Roxas with curiosity as they reached the fourth floor landing. "Are you interested in guys?" After a few seconds, he added, "Just out of curiosity."

Roxas smiled humorously, saying, "I was completely serious about the bisexual part. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't know you were, too."

He had to restrain his overwhelming urge to sound prying, and Axel asked casually, "You already knew about my rather unprejudiced love life?" His tone came off as slightly cocky, yet it sounded level with his hints of teasing. "Why ever would that be, Roxas? Interested?" The redhead smirked down at him.

At this, the blond seemed to falter to some extent, cheeks turning a slight pink. "Ah, well," he began, laughing nervously. "It's just one of those things you hear now and again. It's not like I'm stalking you … or anything."

Axel grinned, pleased by the adorable display of embarrassment. "Roxas," he said, trying not to laugh, "I'm just kidding."

Roxas' cheeks pinked. "I knew that," he mumbled.

Deciding that he'd made the delightful boy uncomfortable enough, Axel switched the topic, pleased grin still in place. "You said you had something to do with a friend of yours. Where are you heading exactly?" He could spot the numbers 408 hanging above a large door not too far away, and he couldn't suppress the frown that followed. Once again, his time with Roxas was going to be cut short. So what was new?

"Oh, it's for the Talent Show. I'm rehearsing with a couple of people," Roxas said, his voice relaxed.

Axel, surprised, said, "Oh, really? What a coincidence; I was going to do the same thing. You never mentioned that you were entering the Talent Show." He grinned. "If I knew that, I'd campaign for your victory against Demyx," Axel said jokingly.

The blond started to grow nervous - of what, Axel wasn't sure - and didn't seem to find this funny. "Ah …" he muttered as they both drew closer to room 408.

When they were standing right in front of Axel's destination, the redhead turned to Roxas with a slightly sad but discreet smile. "This is my stop," he said. "I'll be seeing you around, I guess."

Roxas bit his lower lip, scratching the back of his head. "About that …"

Before he could finish however, the door came bursting open, revealing Demyx with a most joyful expression that would rival that of a child's on Christmas morning.

"You guys came!" he said, broad smile quite blinding.

Axel stiffened. "What?" he asked, unsure of what he'd just heard.

Demyx blinked, then said, "Ooooh!" in comprehension. "That's right! I forgot to mention - I needed someone who could play bass guitar really well, and I came up with my music buddy here! Roxas is really good, so we have absolutely no worries in that area. Your instruments are all set up, and we're good to go!"

The tall blond pranced into the room, grabbing his rhythm guitar, quite oblivious to the two standing stiffly side by side at the doorway. Turning around, he grinned at Axel and Roxas. "Within two and a half months worth of practice and rehearsals, I'm going to be a shoo-in for the grand prize. And I have you guys to thank for that!"

As Demyx turned towards who they assumed to be the drummer, Tidus, a freshman student, Axel managed to find his voice somewhere within the shambles of ongoing mental warfare.

"Oh … you didn't mention you were helping Demyx out, too," he said, not trusting himself to look at Roxas.

The blond coughed. "You didn't seem so up to the subject of your friend when I brought it up … so I figured I'd put it off, you know, since it was coming anyway."

Axel's left eye twitched.

Two and a half months.

Fuck.

"Okay, so don't go too slow or too fast," Demyx lectured Tidus, his freshman cousin, after distributing the sheet music to their appropriate musicians. "As our music teacher always says, if the whole band is off, blame the percussions!"

The younger blond frowned at him, drumsticks within dangerous reach. "When have I ever sucked at playing my own instrument, Dem?" he asked, disgruntled.

Blue eyes stared deadpan at him. "There was that one time at Jimmy's birthday party …"

Tidus flushed, glaring at Demyx, jabbing his drumsticks dangerously towards his older cousin. "Shut up! That was one time! One time. Aren't you ever going to let me live that down?"

As the two quarrelled, Axel tuned his fiery red guitar, his muscles tensing in between yells of "I'm telling auntie!" and "You tattle-tale! Not if I tell first!" which eventually led to, "Oh, I'm a tattle-tale?"

The redhead wasn't one to throw blessings back into the face of heaven, in a manner that would have suggested, "Oh, here's your sorry excuse of a miracle back. I can manage on my own, thank you very much, so you can forget it. Oh, and while you're working on that, maybe you can strike me down with lightning, too." He wasn't an ungrateful person. In fact, Axel was quite a thankful young man who always, more often than not, made sure to recognize when he was lucky and be thankful. He didn't question much, and so was quite content with life as it was, not concerning a few things here and there, but he was doing fine. Today, however, this philosophy did a total one-eighty degree spin.

Glancing over at Roxas who was also tuning his instrument, Axel held back a sardonic snort. This was too coincidental. Just when he was wishing, "Oh, I do wish Roxas could spend more time with me. It's just so tragic that I've had to wait so long for any opportunities," this strange coincidence had occurred. It was far too lucky, and far too close for comfort.

Axel wanted to slap himself. What, was he bipolar now in addition to bisexual? He had to treat this like a gift! A long awaited Christmas present that had been sitting at the top of his wish list for who knew how long; a fallen star right in his very own backyard; this was an opportunity!

Axel's hand stiffened at the neck of his electric guitar. No. Who the hell was he kidding. Demyx was involved. There was no way on god's green earth that this was a miracle sent from above. A curse, more like. Axel couldn't recall having done a decent deed since childhood, so there was really no reason why he would be showered with blessings now. It all pointed to Demyx. Somehow, someway, it always did.

Axel grimaced, reaching for his black guitar pick from his back pants' pocket. There was a motto he had adopted a very long time ago: "When in doubt, blame Demyx." Somehow, in a strange way, he hadn't been wrong so far.

"What does that mean?"

He was about to retort, "It means that Demyx is the source of all my despair, you miserable ass of a retard." Thankfully, his senses snapped to attention in time enough for him to realize that it was Roxas who had spoken. If he did indeed call him a "miserable ass of a retard," then Axel would have stooped so low as to lick his shoes for mercy. It probably didn't matter if the blond got mad at him at all. Axel would do it anyway.

He looked up, seeing Roxas with his black-and-white bass guitar slung across his left shoulder, blue eyes peering with curiosity at Axel's bright red instrument. The redhead blinked.

"What does what mean?" he asked, feeling secretly stupid for having to ask.

Roxas pointed to Axel's guitar (in a way, Axel noted thankfully, that didn't indicate that Roxas thought he was stupid) and asked, "That character in black. Is it Chinese or Japanese?"

Axel looked down at the mentioned black kanji. "Oh, yeah. It's Japanese. It means jade."

Roxas glanced at his face, expression brightening a little. "Like, your eyes?"

Smiling despite his bad mood, Axel explained, "Yeah, exactly like my eyes. My brother and I both wanted this guitar, but we didn't want to get the same one since we practically own the same things. Even looks, except he has blue eyes. I put jade on before he could put sapphire. Long story. I ended up winning the thing."

Raising his brows in curiosity, Roxas walked over, taking a closer look at Axel's fascinating guitar, then at the redhead himself. "That's really cool. I never knew you had a brother."

Shrugging, Axel adjusted his guitar strap. "Yeah. His name's Reno. He's a couple of years older and he's always out of town which would explain why you've never seen him around before. But it doesn't take much to imagine what that idiot looks like. Exact same hair, same height, and he steals my clothes, the bastard. Except, yeah I mentioned he has blue eyes, but he has tattoos around his cheekbones," Axel raised a finger and drew an imaginary line across his own cheekbones. "Mine are on my cheeks."

Roxas smiled, eyeing the symmetrical upside-down teardrop tattoos, genuinely fascinated. "I guess I know how that feels. You know my twin, Sora. He steals my clothes, too, and I guess I take some of his sometimes."

Axel wrinkled his nose. "Even underwear?" He meant this as a joke and didn't expect Roxas to reply seriously.

The blond made a face. "That was one time. Sora pilfered my Mickey Mouse boxers in the third grade. Showed everyone in the boys' locker room." His frown indicated some sort of mental scar, and Axel winced.

"Bad?"

"Very."

"Alright everybody!" Demyx said, his ever present smile holding a slight tic, a sign that some sort of mental dam had come a-bursting (most likely from the previous spat with his cousin). "Tell me when you guys have gone over the sheet music, then we'll start. We have an hour, and that's not nearly enough for a first practice, but we'll make the best of it, won't we?"

Tidus snorted from behind him.

Demyx swivelled around promptly, a terrorizing expression on his face. "One more time and I'm telling your mother!"

"Oh, fine! Be like that. I'll just quit on you-"

"I dare you, Tidus. I swear to my own mother, I dare you to quit right now." Demyx did not at all seem happy.

Upon the spluttering and grudging apologies that followed, Roxas and Axel exchanged knowing looks, shuddering in their own skin. "I bet Demyx has dirt on all of us …" Roxas whispered, laughing shakily, to which Axel replied with a tone of mourning, "Well you better bet high kid, because I don't think any of us are going to worm out of this any time soon."

Which was exactly what Axel was both hoping and dreading.

It was later that afternoon when the peace and quiet within the library was disrupted with a loud slam. Demyx and Zexion jerked up in surprise then recoiled in terror as they took in Axel's very angry, very tense form hovering above the table, across from them. The two of them were quite thankful that the piece of wood gave them appropriate distance, which would buy them a couple seconds head start if Axel so chose to leap across the table and grab their throats. The redhead looked like he could and would do it with the right kind of provocation.

Scared to even let out a breath, Demyx just stared at Axel with what he hoped was an expectant expression that did not suggest in any way that he would be crying soon. After a few terse seconds wherein all Axel did was glower at the blond, the redhead eventually spoke.

His voice was stretched out like a thin wire, on the verge of snapping if excess tension would happen to add on. "This really isn't funny, Demyx," Axel hissed, fingers unconsciously clawing at the wood beneath his palms. "Call off the entire thing. Right now."

Demyx tried a valiant attempt at smiling. "I have no idea-"

Axel snapped. "I know where you live."

At this the blond decided to cease trying to prolong the redhead's anger, attempting to be a little more serious. "Okay, I know what you're thinking, and I knew this would come up. That thing with Roxas was not what it looks like." Hastily, Demyx extended the explanation, before the undoubted "Off with his head!" signal from Axel. "I really want to win the Talent Show, Axel. I really do. I've been waiting for this opportunity for a really long time since, you know, freshmen students hardly ever get a spot in the top twenty." He smiled, sad somewhat. "This year's my year, and I'm only asking you to bear with being around Roxas, if he bothers you so much." Demyx ignored the subtle wince that came from Axel and continued. "Please, Axel. He's the only one I could think of to ask on such short notice, and he's really good with music, too. It'll only be until December, I promise-"

"You swear that's the only reason?" Axel interjected, voice still rigid.

Demyx smiled brightly. "Well, yeah. I figured I've been giving you way too much hell lately. Adding that issue to the hay pile would be kind of cruel." He paused, looking at Axel with a curious expression. "Why do you even seem so troubled about it?" he asked, tone lowered.

Axel frowned, not in a displeased manner but in a way that suggested deep thought. He glanced discreetly at Zexion, who looked immersed in his own little world as he read a thick, leather bound book. He turned his attention to Demyx, frown still firmly in place, though his voice lost its stiffness.

"Let's just say certain things … aren't over," Axel muttered, eyes taking on a lost, uncertain and yet secure look. He glared at Demyx almost a second afterward, still not completely appeased. "But if I catch anything suspicious, blackmail or no blackmail, good luck finding a new lead guitarist. Memorize that."

Having had his say, the redhead left, muttering darkly under his breath.

Demyx couldn't help the smile that bloomed on his lips as he gazed at Axel's retreating form. "Hear that, Zexion? If that wasn't a confession, I don't know what it was!" He threw his hands up, laughing. "This is all going so smoothly! I can almost hear the wedding bells … Here comes the bride," the blond sang happily. Seconds later, Demyx noticed the complete lack of response, and turned to look at Zexion curiously.

The shorter boy had a shattered expression of disbelief plastered on his half visible features. "He bought it …" Zexion muttered, voice completely devoid of life. "I can't believe he bought all your crappy lies …"

Demyx glared at him. "They were half-truths, Zex. Political correctness, man. Besides, the ulterior motive was to live to see another day, right?"

Zexion scowled, tempted to hit Demyx with the copy of Renaissance VI lying open in front of him. "You absolute moron. The ulterior motive was to meddle in Axel's love life. Or … nonexistent love life. Whatever. Point is, this is going to get you thrown off the highest building Axel can reach. And let me tell you," Zexion hissed, "I'm not picking pieces of you up in town square after Axel's pushed you off the Castle Theatre tower. I sure as hell won't be planning your funeral."

Sighing, Demyx enveloped Zexion in a choking embrace, smothering the protesting boy against his chest in what looked like a failing attempt at mothering. "Ah, Zex. It's wonderful that you care about me so much, but I promise I'm being careful! Axel believes me, I've got the best goddamn performance planned out, everything's going to be fine. Besides," he gripped Zexion into a playful headlock, grinning down at his ruffled best friend, "I have you to make sure I'm okay, right?"

Flushing, Zexion pulled away, snapping, "So Axel believes you. Big whoop. What about Roxas? All of this day and last week you've only ever focused on Axel."

The slow grin showing itself on Demyx's face was far too laid-back for Zexion's liking.

"Oh, well," Demyx began, beaming with smugness. "On top of observing Axel, driving him insane, wrangling me some dirt on my cousin, and planning out every single rehearsal between today and December 14, including locations, possible expenses, transportation, I managed to squeeze Roxas in - and he wasn't that hard of a case to deal with. All suspicions and theories confirmed, I think we're good to go." The following smile sent Zexion's way nearly gave him a seizure.

The younger boy allowed his head to fall smack dab onto the open book in front of him. Alas, his hopes of anti-matchmaking and possible loss of life or limb were futile. The spiral of events that would follow was out of his hands now.