They sat there eating their soup in silence Demyx wanted to try and find out more without forcing it.
"So... Who else do you hang around with in school? Or do you not bother with the preppy ones?"
The blonde laughed to lighten the mood.
"No one... I tend to do well with my own company..."
Axel took a mouthful of soup.
"So you've never had any friends in school at all? Don't you get lonely?"
The redhead sighed.
"There was one..."
Demyx's eyes lit up in interest.
"Oh yeah? What were they like?"
Axel let out a long drawn out sigh.
/I wonder if he read it in the newspaper or something... Spotted me in the background of one of the shots at the funeral or something.../
His green eyes stared at Demyx for a long moment and he whispered.
"How much do you know?"
Demyx was taken aback by this question.
"What do you mean?"
Axel sat up straight.
"You're asking a lot of questions..."
"Wouldn't that imply that I know nothing?"
The redhead shook his head.
"You're smarter than you let on... So what exactly is it you want to know?"
The blonde haired boy sat up straight.
"First I want to apologise... I went into your room when I went upstairs... I was curious, you're an unusual person and I wanted to know more... I saw all the pictures of you and... Roxas... I didn't touch anything... Except the newspaper article on the bed... Which explained everything... I'm sorry."
Axel's eyes were looking at the wood of the table below him he could feel his heart accelerate and his breathing become short he put his head in his hands and brought his head down towards his knees hyperventilating.
Demyx stood up panicked.
"Axel what's wrong?"
His green eyes were wide as he tried to catch his breath to answer.
"Pan... ic... Att... ack..."
The blonde boy understood and started frantically looking for a brown paper bag.
He opened cupboards at random and pushed things aside to try and find one.
But before Demyx could find one Axel's breath was returning slowly but surely back to normal.
"Are you okay? Is there anything I can get you?"
Axel shook his head.
"I'm okay... It happens from time to time..."
Demyx nodded and sat down in the chair beside Axel.
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said anything..."
The redhead shook his head.
"It's not your fault... Just hearing it said out loud makes it feel all the more real like its happened and I know it has but it feels surreal and so far no ones tried talking to me about it..."
Demyx nodded in understanding.
"I don't want to bore you with the details..."
The blondes eyes caught Axel's.
"We're friends right?"
Axel considered this for a moment.
"Well... We've known each other for less than a day... But we could wind up being friends..."
Demyx nodded.
"Which means you're not 'boring me with details' it means I'm being a friend or acquaintance or whatever. Either way I want to know... I want to help..."
Axel nodded taking another mouthful of soup.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Demyx nodded.
"I said I wanted to help and I meant it."
Axel sighed.
"Okay... Where do I begin?"
Demyx shrugged.
"I guess when you guys met?"
"This is gonna be a pretty long story then... But we have a while... So I guess I'll begin..."
"We started high school together...
Well separate but in the same year and the same class.
He was kinda shy...
He had the coolest spiky blonde hair and I remember looking at it for ages and wondering how the hell he got it like that.
But I digress...
We first got talking at lunchtime all the tables were crowded and we were both looking for one to sit at alone, but there was only one table left, I got there first and sat down...
He didn't look in the least bit pleased but sat down anyway across from me.
He had the oddest obsession with chequered clothing, he always wore black and white vans you know the ones...
Kinda like loafers with no laces...
His wristband was chequered his notebooks were chequered some of em were green and black, pink and black, purple and black...
People used to think he was gay over his pink and purple notebooks.
He used to tell them he thought anyone who wore a sweater vest was gay, and they used to ALL wear sweater vests in summer.
Well the ones who took the piss out of him anyway did so it shut them the fuck up.
His delivery was the best thing about his sense of humour half the time you weren't sure if he was joking...
Until he started laughing and it was infectious as hell."
Axel was smiling to himself now.
Demyx wondered about this.
"Wow sounds like you guys had a really good time... Sounds like you cared a lot for him..."
Axel immediately stopped smiling and continued.
"We had a lot of good times, we didn't need anyone else to have fun...
He used to let me stay in his house when things like this happened."
Axel then pointed up towards his eye.
"And he'd have ice cream, movies and video games ready...
He really was a great friend..."
Axel looked wistful.
"So what happened? Besides the obvious I mean..."
The redhead sighed a deep sigh and swallowed hard like he was trying to hold back tears.
"Well... Someone new started in the school, same year as us... The other guy in the picture... Riku... He started sitting with us and stuff and that was fine... I didn't have a problem with him at all... In fact I quite liked him... Until him and Roxas started hanging out without me... Even that was fine for a time... But there was one night I wanted to meet Roxas alone... There was something I had been thinking about for months... And really needed to talk about it with him... But before I got to say what I wanted to say... Riku turned up in his car outside my house beeping...
And I lost it...
I told him to go with Riku... He told me he wanted to hear what I wanted to tell him... But I was too angry... I told him to go and get in the car with Riku and that it was clear who he favoured... I know if I had of told him what I wanted to tell him he would never have gotten in that car... And Riku would've gone home instead... But he went for the door he looked back to see if I actually meant it... And the look in his eyes that hurt... It almost looked like he knew that would be the last time I'd see him alive... And it was... I regretted what I'd done the minute they pulled off... I tried calling him to get him to come back... But his phone kept ringing out... I tried for most of the night... And decided it would be okay that I would see him the next morning... But I never went to school that day... I went to the hospital... He wasn't mangled or bruised... He just looked like he was sleeping... I even threw his mobile phone fully charged and on into the coffin at the funeral just in case he woke up... I knew he was dead... But I kept my phone on just in case... Needless to say he never called..."
Axel's eyes were glazed over like he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him but reliving what happened to Roxas.
Demyx was solemn too...
"That's terrible... What was it that you wanted to tell him?"
The redhead snapped back to reality and looked at the clock on the wall...
"We should probably head back..."
The blonde nodded and took his bowl to the sink Axel started washing and Demyx dried the dishes wondering what he could've wanted to say to him that would've made him stay...
Axel put the dishes back up into their rightful places and grabbed his bag and his hoody from over the stairs...
But before he walked outside he pulled the picture out of his bag to show Demyx.
"I never saw the crash... But this is how it looks when I dream about it... And that's why I won't hand it over to the art teacher... It seems... Too personal... Sacred maybe... That and they'd probably send me to therapy or expel me... And I have enough to deal without that happening too..."
Demyx nodded understanding.
With that they started the walk back to school...
Both were silent.
Both thinking...
Demyx wondering still where he got the black eye and what he was going to tell Roxas...
Axel wondering had he said too much...
And would these feelings for Demyx pass...