The semester progressed into October and the weather started to cool. The trees started to change colors around the campus, turning everything orange and gold. Roxas exhaled slowly, watching a wisp of steam rise from beneath his black scarf. He enjoyed the colder weather since there were fewer people walking around outside.

It was a Saturday afternoon and most of the campus was either doing homework or in town wasting time. Roxas walked around the campus, enjoying the silence that greeted his ears. He eventually made his way to the parks by Axel's apartments. The trees rustled gently in the breeze. He made his way to a bench and took a seat.

The park was empty and the wind was chilly. Roxas sighed and dug into his pocket. There he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper and a lighter. He closed his eyes and relaxed as the drugs coursed through his lungs. Roxas exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, leaning back against the bench.

He felt the joint being taken from his mouth and he opened his eyes with a glare. Marluxia stood over him with a frown.

"Not exactly tactful, smoking in the park," Marluxia commented. He extinguished the joint on the bottom of his shoe and tossed in in a nearby trash can. Roxas scowled. He hadn't even gotten high yet.

"Why do you care if I go out for a smoke?" Marluxia crossed his arms over his chest. His white coat was accented with a magenta scarf.

"Is your life so stressful that you need to resort to fake highs?" Roxas didn't reply. Marluxia sighed and dug a box of strawberry Pocky from his pocket. He offered a stick to Roxas.

"No thanks," Roxas hissed.

"I'd rather have you fat then stoned." Marluxia shoved the stick into Roxas's mouth, causing the younger boys frown to deepen.

"Why are you even here?"

"Neighbors to the south were being a little too noisy. It's hard to write an annotated bibliography when your music can't drown out the background. So I thought I'd take a walk." Marluxia rubbed his hands together and blew some hot air on them to get the circulation flowing again.

Roxas nibbled on the Pocky until it was gone. Marluxia popped a stick of his own in his mouth and munched on it quietly. Roxas lay down on the bench and closed his eyes.

"You're not going to leave, are you?" Marluxia smirked.

"Eventually. I'll give them twenty more minutes before I head back. They should have all of their hormones under control by then." Marluxia turned and leaned against the back of the bench, sticking a second Pocky into his mouth. He offered one to Roxas. "Here." Roxas cracked an eye. Surprisingly, he accepted it. Marluxia watched as he bit off the end and chewed on it slowly.

"Exams going well?" Marluxia asked.

"Whatever," Roxas growled, taking another bite of Pocky. Marluxia frowned.

"You don't have to be so emo, you know. I'm sure whatever happened to you…"

"Shut the fuck up!" Roxas barked. Marluxia stood frozen. He didn't know Roxas very well, besides the three times he showed up for help with his math homework, but his outburst seemed out of place. Roxas stood and stormed off back to his dorm. "God, what a waste of a day."

Marluxia watched him leave with a sad countenance. He pulled out his cellphone and called Axel. It was hard to hear his roommate over the music blaring in the background. "Hey."

"How's it going?" There was a paused as Axel pressed his ear to the floor.

"Sounds like it's died down. Demyx is still practicing."

"I couldn't tell." Axel chuckled.

"Get back to your paper, you slacker."

"Same to you." Marluxia hung up. He was about to head back but his curiosity got the better of him. He walked deeper into the park to where there was a large group of trees clustered together. He was careful not to make too much noise. Marluxia peeked from behind a tree and found Roxas sitting at a base of a tree, another joint in his mouth. The pain on his face was obvious. Marluxia sighed and headed back to his room.

'I'd better not tell Axel.' He thought quietly. 'Who knows what emotional trauma it might put him through? To think he's been good for this long…'

XxXxX

Roxas chewed on his eraser. The latest test grades were posted and he got a 95% on his math exam. It was a start but he had a long way to go. The semester wasn't even half over. Roxas shut his computer and turned back to his math book. The professor did a terrible job explaining the material and the TA's explanation made it even more confusing.

"You feeling okay, Roxas?" Pence asked, looking up from his instant ramen cup and anatomy notes. Roxas shifted his gaze to the left.

"Yeah, sure."

"Say, I was curious. What's with the scar on your chin?" Pence was talking about the small pale dot under his lower lip.

"I had a piecing that got infected." Roxas set his pencil down and pulled his feet onto his chair.

"No way!" Roxas grabbed his phone and scrolled through the pictures. He handed it Pence. It was a side shot of Roxas from his senior year of high school. A black piecing sat under his lower lip. Pence chuckled. "Bad ass!" He handed the phone back to Roxas. "Ever want to get it re-pierced?"

"Haven't thought about it much."

"Cool. I always wanted a tattoo but my mom won't let me get one. You have any tattoos?" Roxas shook his head. "Well, okay." Pence returned to slurping his noodles. Roxas stared at his book but his eyes couldn't focus.

"I'm going to bed," Roxas announced, moving from his chair to his bed.

"Oh…uh, okay. It's only 8:00, but okay. See you in the morning then!" Roxas crawled under the covers in his clothes, having not bothered to change, and pulled the covers over his head.

The next morning, Roxas wasn't feeling well. His hands wouldn't stop shaking. He forced himself out of bed and to class. When he sat down at his desk for English Lit, his legs felt like they were about to give out. If Axel noticed his condition, he didn't comment. During the lecture, Roxas could barely think. Everything the professor said seemed muddled. As he stood to leave, he wavered and bumped into his chair.

"Careful there, Roxas," Axel teased.

"Mind your own business, shithead!" Roxas stormed off. Axel was left confused.

Friday came and Roxas wasn't feeling any better. He didn't eat because it made him queasy. His latest math homework was turned in incomplete since he didn't finish it the night before. Roxas snapped at the professor and punched him in the face before leaving. He made his way back to his room and grabbed his keys.

"Heading out?" Pence asked.

"Shut up!" Roxas hissed. Pence remained silent as he watched Roxas storm out of the room. Roxas made his way to his car and stormed off towards Axel's apartment.

'I'll give him a piece of my mind.' Roxas rubbed his eyes because his vision was blurring. It didn't get any better. In fact, it got worse the farther he drove. Upon reaching the apartments, he tripped out of his car. Roxas stood up, unsure why he was on the ground.

His trip only got worse as he started off by knocking on the door of the wrong apartment. When he figured out he was at the wrong door, he didn't even apologize the resident standing confused in the doorway. After knocking on the correct door, he was greeted by Demyx.

"Roxas! We were just heading out!"

"Where's Axel?!" Roxas shouted.

"Oh, he's right here." Axel poked his head around the door.

"Heya, Roxas," Axel greeted.

"Get in the fucking car!" The guys in the doorway stood in a stunned silence.

"Well, if you want to drive that's cool. We're just getting groceries…"

"Fine!" Axel, Demyx and Marluxia exchanged glances. Marluxia felt his stomach tighten. They piled into Roxas's car, which was a tight fit. There wasn't much room in the back seats so Axel had to sit in the front, as he was the tallest. Marluxia noticed him stiffen at the prospect. He and Demyx squeezed into the tiny back seat.

"I don't think we can fit much food in here," Demyx whispered in Marluxia's ear.

"Just roll with it," Marluxia whispered back. Roxas climbed in and started the car. He rocketed out of the parking lot and sped down the street, running past a stop sign.

"Can we slow down a bit?" Demyx asked.

"Shut up!" Roxas's vision blurred again and he rubbed his eyes.

"Could you please slow down?" Axel asked nicely. Roxas didn't reply. "Roxas?" Marluxia smacked Roxas on the head.

"Knock it off!" Marluxia roared. Roxas turned to glared at him.

"Watch the road!" Demyx squealed. Roxas drifted around a corner.

"Roxas! Please!" Axel begged, his face pale. Roxas slammed on the breaks, sending everyone flying forward in their seat. Roxas slowed to the speed limit and scowled.

"Where the hell are we going?" Roxas barked.

"I told you, to get groceries," Demyx reminded. Roxas noticed Axel sitting next to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"You told me to get in the car. Roxas, what the Hell's wrong with you?"

"Just leave me alone!" Roxas screamed. He slammed his head against the back of his seat. His vision blurred so badly he became dizzy. His grip faltered on the steering wheel. They turned sharply, nearly rolling the car.

"Roxas!" Axel shouted. The blonde wavered and passed out, slumping forward in his seat. Axel's eyes went wide. Roxas's foot stepped further on the accelerator. Demyx screamed. Marluxia leapt forward and jerked the wheel. He lifted Roxas's foot from the pedal and cracked the emergency brake. The car screeched and spun around on the road, crashing to a stop on a light post.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"I think I peed myself," Demyx whispered. Marluxia forced himself out of his seatbelt.

"Axel, get out so we can get Roxas to a hospital." The pink haired male turned to his roommate. "Oh God, no." Axel sat pressed against the back of his seat. His eyes were wide and his hands were white knuckled on the door. He was unresponsive.

"Demyx, call 911! Now!" Demyx whimpered and dialed. Marluxia tried to coax Axel out of his shock with no luck.

"They're on their way!" Demyx called. They waited for five minutes in the backseat until help arrived. The police eased Axel out of the car so the pair in the back seat could get out. Roxas was pulled from the car last. The paramedics arrived and took him and Axel to the hospital. Marluxia called for a tow truck to bring Roxas's car to a repair service while Demyx called the rest of his apartment mates.

"What have we gotten into?" Marluxia wondered aloud.

XxXxX

"Easy there," Zexion's voice murmured. Roxas pried his eyes open. He found himself in the hospital with two IV's in his arm. Turning his head, he tried to read what was on them. One had the label turned away but the other read "GLUCOSE" in small black letters.

"How'd I get here?" Roxas asked quietly.

"You don't remember?" Roxas shook his head. "What's the last thing you do remember?"

"Taking a shower…Thursday night…" Zexion sighed.

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected more." The door opened and Lexaeus entered in a white coat. He held a clipboard and flipped through the pages.

"You're labs have stabilized. If you're good, we'll discharge you today," he said with a cool voice. It was the first time Roxas had heard him speak.

"I don't understand," Roxas stated.

"Anorexia with a case of hypoglycemia. You're lucky to have gotten here when you did. Any longer and your brain might have lost some cognitive functioning."

"Hypo-what?"

"Low blood sugar, most likely due from the lack of caloric intake. Can you tell me what you've had to eat the past few days?"

"Some Pocky, and a bagel, I think." Lexaeus sighed.

"Self-starvation." Lexaeus wrote down some notes. "I'm going to have you see the dietitian for a diet plan. We can't have you eating too much too soon but you need some calories, particularly carbs. If you can eat a full lunch, I'll have you discharged and you can get back to school for Wednesday classes."

"Wednesday?!" Roxas proclaimed, sitting up suddenly. His head spun and Zexion eased him back down.

"Yes. You were in a coma for awhile. Try and get him to eat," Lexaeus said to Zexion before leaving the room. Roxas stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what he did between last Thursday and the present.

"The school dropped the charges against assaulting a professor since you weren't in the right mind set." Zexion handed Roxas a piece of paper with equations and triangles on it. "Your professor gave you permission to redo the assignment. Marluxia took care of your car for you and your friend Pence collected all of your homework."

Roxas pressed his head into his pillow. He fought against the emotions but he couldn't hold them back. He pressed his eyes shut as tears spilled down his cheeks. Zexion watched silently, his face full of worry. Roxas's clenched the sheets in his fists. He just wanted to scream.

Zexion perked up at the door opened again. Marluxia stepped inside with a vase of flowers. He saw Roxas and his heart went out to him. He stepped farther into the room and placed the flowers on the bedside table.

"Axel will be glad to hear he's awake," Marluxia muttered. "Have you told him yet?" Zexion shook his head.

"I'll call him when he's out of class," the dark haired man replied. Roxas opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. 9:15. Axel was in English Literature. Roxas sat up and rubbed the tears from his face. He sniffed and looked down at his homework. There was a sticky note attached to it.

Hey Kid

No hard feelings. Get better and get back to class. Can't have you slacking off now.

You can redo this assignment. Bring it to me when you can.

Cid

Roxas sighed and placed the paper on his bedside table. Marluxia sat in the second chair in the room. "How's your memory?" he asked.

"Shitty," Roxas replied.

"I can fill you in if you want. I'll leave it up to you." Roxas stared at his hands in his lap. Then he nodded. "Alright." Marluxia spent the next hour filling him in and answering questions. Roxas inwardly flinched each time he heard more bad news. When Marluxia reached the part about the paramedics, Roxas felt a pang of concern.

"What do you mean they took Axel to the hospital? I thought none of you were hurt?" Roxas interrupted.

"We were, save from some whiplash and Demyx's pants. Axel went into shock so the paramedics wanted to make sure he was going to be alright before letting him go. He missed classes on Monday but he forced himself to go today. I haven't seen him do that since his sophomore year."

"You mean this has happened before?"

"We're not really sure. Axel won't talk about it and I've known him since we met in high school." Something in Roxas's mind clicked.

"What school did you go to?!" he demanded, his eyes intrigued.

"Trinity High. Why?" Roxas lowered his gaze and chewed on his bottom lip.

"When did you meet him?"

"The end of our senior year. He moved rather suddenly."

"That's why I recognized him," Roxas whispered. Marluxia raised an eyebrow in question. 'I went to Chesterson High. Axel used to go to my school before he moved. I can't remember much about him or why he moved. I try to forget high school when I can.'

"It's nothing," Roxas reassured the worried pair.

"Alright." Marluxia stood and stretched. "I have to get back to campus. Classes won't wait for me." He left with a smile and a wave, leaving Roxas alone with Zexion.

"Ready for some lunch?" Zexion offered. It was still early but Roxas didn't protest. Zexion ordered lunch for both of them and it came a half an hour later. Roxas wasn't thrilled with the food and he still wasn't hungry, but Zexion forced him to eat every bite. It made his stomach curl.

Lexaeus checked back with them in the early afternoon and Roxas was discharged with glucose tablets. Zexion brought him down to the dietitian's office and they sat through an appointment of learning what Roxas should be eating for the next month. Then they headed back the campus in Zexions FIAT. Roxas dozed in the car until Zexion poked him upon reaching his dorm.

When he got back to his room, he was bombarded with questions by Pence. Roxas tried to answer them all, but he eventually turned to ignoring them. Pence got the hint and quickly shut up. Roxas spent the rest of the day catching up on his homework.

The rest of his week was eaten up as well. Any free time he had went to making up all of his assignments and a missed physics exam. By Friday evening, he was exhausted. He thought of hanging out with Pence but he went to a movie with an old friend who had come to visit. Roxas turned to his phone and flicked through the contacts. He found himself scrolling back to the top.

Axel.

Roxas pressed dial and waited while the phone rang. "Hello?" Axel greeted.

"Hey Axel," Roxas replied.

"Roxas! Are you okay?! Zexion said you were discharged."

"Yeah. I'm doing okay."

"Are you eating?"

"I guess so. I'm not really that hungry though."

"You want to go get some food?"

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

"I should ask you that," Axel corrected.

"Right. Maybe just something sweet."

"Okay. There's an ice cream place I know of that's pretty good. Want to go there?"

"Sounds good."

"Great. I'll come pick you up."

"Thanks." Roxas hung up and sat curled up in his chair. He couldn't figure out why but he felt normal talking to Axel. Roxas moved to his closet and picked out some warmer clothes. He eventually settled on a baggy grey sweatshirt, black cargo pants, and a spikey dog collar. Then he put on his dark red coat and scarf and headed downstairs to wait. He watched his breath swirl through the air as he breathed. The last bits of light faded from the day and it turned into night. The stars started to poke through the darkness when a set of headlights appeared. Roxas stood from the steps leading up to his dorm and walked up to the curb.

The car stopped in front of him and Roxas crawled inside. Before he had a chance to put his seat belt on, he was being crushed against Axel's chest. Roxas's eyes went wide. Axel held him in his arms for a full minute before letting him sit comfortably.

"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Axel said with a soft smile. Roxas felt his heart beat harder. "Hey, say something." Roxas blinked and forced himself out of his daze.

"Let's go get some food." Axel nodded and pulled off. They drove into town and stopped at a small ice cream parlor. There were only six tables inside and they were the only customers. A red headed girl leaned on the counter reading a book.

"Oh, hi!" she greeted. Her name tag read Kairi. "Just let me know when you're ready." Axel shoved his hands into his pockets and read over the choices. Roxas wasn't sure what to try.

"What are you getting?" he asked Axel.

"Dunno. Maybe I'll try something new, although butter pecan sounds good," Axel replied, never moving his gaze. Roxas looked over the board a second time.

"Sea-salt? That's a weird flavor."

"You should try it. Seifer had it once and ate almost an entire gallon."

Roxas ordered a bowl of sea salt ice cream in a waffle bowl while Axel got a regular bowl of coffee toffee blast. Roxas was about to pay when Axel shook his head.

"My treat."

"You sure?"

"Of course." Kairi prepared their ice cream and they moved to a corner table to eat. The girl went back to her book shortly after.

"Marluxia had you're car fixed up."

"How much was it?"

"He said not to worry about it. "Consider it a present" he said. I think he just pulled some strings with Seifer since he works at the body shop."

"Oh." Roxas broke off part of his bowl and scooped it in the ice cream, which was a bright blue color. When he tasted it, his face lit up.

"Any good?"

"Yeah. It starts off salty but then gets sweet." Roxas suddenly felt hungry and began to devour his treat. Axel watched quietly, slowly eating his ice cream as he leaned against the back of his chair. Roxas noticed him staring and paused.

"You've got some on your face," Axel said with a chuckle. He leaned across the table and wiped the corner of Roxas's mouth with his thumb. Roxas didn't mind until Axel licked his thumb. "Mmm, it is good, or maybe that's just you." Roxas's face flushed. His mind went blank. Axel took a scoop of his ice cream and held it out to Roxas. "Want a taste?" Roxas desperately wanted to protest. His mind screamed at him to swear or start bashing the red head.

But Axel's smile blocked the neurons in his mind.

Roxas leaned forward and bit down on the spoon. The ice cream was good but he preferred the flavor he got. Axel's smile turned into a smirk as he pulled the spoon from Roxas's mouth.

"What are you up to tonight?" Axel asked in a cool voice.

"Eh?" Axel burst out laughing.

"Come on. It'll be a quiet night at my place. Terra, Seifer, and Riku are out clubbing with Marluxia. Lexaeus is out of town so it'll only be me, you, Zexion and Demyx."

"I guess that sounds fun." Axel spooned the rest of his ice cream in his mouth and stood up.

"Let's go then." They headed back to Axel's apartment. As they got out of the car, they could voices from inside.

"You can't put it back in!" Zexion cried.

"Sure I can," Demyx protested.

"No you can't. You touched it, you have to remove it."

"Ah, come on! Uh, oh."

"What?"

"It's stuck!"

"That's what you get for not removing it when you had the chance."

"Push the other way, and then try pulling it out."

"Oh, that's so much easier."

Roxas was starting to wonder when Axel opened the door. They stepped inside and found the pair at the kitchen table playing Jenga. Demyx gently placed the wooden block on the top of the tower.

"Hey guys!" Demyx greeted. "We're playing for pizza."

"Loser buys," Zexion explained. Axel sauntered over and pulled out a piece from the bottom. Then he gracefully placed it on the top.

"No fair! I was going for that piece." Demyx whined.

"Too slow," Axel teased. Roxas kicked off his shoes and went over to the table as well.

"What's the point to the game?" Roxas asked.

"Not to knock the tower over," Zexion explained. "Which is something Demyx doesn't know how to do."

"Hey! I don't always lose," Demyx defended.

"You're never won either," Axel added. Demyx pouted. Roxas looked at the tower and studied the structure. Then he pulled out a piece from the side. He was about to place it on top when he received a text message. Demyx jumped at the sudden scream and slammed into the table, knocking the tower over. Wooden beams were sent sprawling across the kitchen. Roxas was left holding his piece.

"You're buying!" Zexion called.

"No fair!" Demyx pouted, shelling out thirty dollars from his wallet. Roxas placed the wooden piece on the table and checked his text. It was his mother worrying about him. She received a call from the school on what happened and she was worried sick. Roxas sent a half-hearted reply, not really caring what she thought.

The doorbell rang ten minutes later with the pizza. Demyx was sad to see his money go. Everyone grabbed a slice of pizza and Axel passed out cans of soda. As Roxas sat eating his crust, he leaned against the wall. A light smile brushed across his face.

"Hey look! Roxas does know how to smile!" Roxas's smile faded at Demyx's outburst.

"Damn, I wish I had taken a picture. Seifer owes us fifty now," Zexion mused.

"You made a bet on whether or not I knew how to smile?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, but we make bets on everything. Just last week we were betting on how long it was going to take before Riku did his laundry," Demyx stated, offering himself a second slice.

"How long was it?"

"Not sure. It's going on five weeks and he still hasn't run out of clothes. Either he re-wears them and we don't know it or his wardrobe's massive," Zexion commented.

"I'd say it's the wardrobe," Axel stated.

"No way! He brought two bags with him when he moved in. There's no way he'd have that many clothes," Demyx protested.

"Want to bet?"

"Twenty!"

"Deal!" Axel and Demyx sealed the deal by toasting their sodas.