I apologize once more for the shortness of the previous chapter. ' This one's longer. Thanks everyone for the reviews, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Updates should be a bit faster now, though I'm starting another AU, this will remain my first priority.
Oh, on a random note: When I was writing, I found myself reading and re-reading the reviews for muse, so it's thanks to my reviewers this got done. Anyways, onto the date chapter!
"Axel."
"Axel."
"Axel."
"Axel, goddammit, pay attention to me, man!" Demyx yelled, grabbing a fistful of his friend's hair and slammed his face down on his desk. Letting go, he allowed the redhead to sit up, rubbing his face. While his friend did so, the blonde peered at him, waiting for an actual response from the younger, other than the involuntary yelp that Axel had given out when his face made contact with the wood.
"The hell, Demyx?" He demanded, brushing his hand along his nose, which was hurting the worse. "What was that--" Axel broke off as he noticed the blood on his hand, presumably from his nose. "Give me your shirt." When Demyx didn't answer, he growled once more, "Give me your damn shirt."
The guitarist stared at him. "You want my shirt? What? Why?" He arched his eyebrows, before sparing a glance to the rest of the class, all of which were watching them. It was an awkward moment; the entire class, including the teacher, had looked back at the pair when Axel yelled, and had been staring since. A few of the male students, who were close enough to hear Axel talk, blinked at what he said, trying to shrug it off, though the fact that Axel (who they were convinced was gay) was demanding his best friend to take off his shirt was a bit of a touchy subject with them.
Gesturing at his nose, Axel glared at his friend. Honestly, Demyx could be so slow sometimes!
"Oh," Demyx answered, noticing the blood was staining the tips of Axel's sweatshirt sleeves, not to mention where he had wiped the blood off on his black jeans. "Errr…."
Picking up a Health textbook, for they were in fourth period, Axel began to hit all of Demyx that he could get at, laughing and cursing at his friend simultaneously. Both of the black-clad teens ended up halfway on the floor, the more drugged of the pair still brandishing the book, the duo effectively making fools of themselves and distracting the class.
They realized this after a few minutes.
"Err… teacher? Axel got a nosebleed or something. Could I take him to the bathroom to clean off?" Demyx asked, grabbing both of Axel's wrists in his hands, turning to face the teacher after a glance from Zexion.
A few girls sitting across the room heard this (the whole class had) and began to laugh and talk among themselves, drawing their own conclusions from the nosebleed, and the masculine members did their best not to hear Demyx and Axel.
"I think that's best," their instruction answered, a frazzled-sounding brunette was still wasn't sure how she was expected to deal with the pair in the health class. Class was only half over and she was trying to get the introduction to STD's done, so that the class could start on that unit on Monday; she never looked forward to the unit, and was even more apprehensive, thanks to the blonde and the pyro.
Demyx let go of one of his friend's hands and stood, grabbing his bag as he waited for Axel to grab his messenger bag. When he did so, the blonde nearly dragged him out of the portable, the redhead's boots dragging against the ground as a result of his friend's 'enthusiasm'.
Zexion put his face into his hands, shaking his head as he did so. This wasn't going to go over very well.
"Demi-kun," Axel sang, doing his best to get onto his feet as he was dragged into the school building, "What're we doing?" He put a hand up to his nose as it continued bleeding; snorting crack made his nose much more sensitive, and thus prone to nosebleeds. "Where're we going?"
"To the bathroom to get you cleaned up!" Demyx answered, feeling his face turn red thanks to his friend's new nickname for him. "You're clothes are all getting bloody," he pointed out obviously, rolling his eyes as Axel stumbled again. "Am I going to have to carry you?" The musician grabbed one of Axel's hands in each of his, doing his best to get them both into the men's restroom.
"Oh, yeah," the red-head nodded, looking at his hands, which were becoming covered in blood, as well as his sweatshirt. The black clothing was becoming stiff as the blood dried, and the chains that dangled from his sweatshirt becoming speckled red. A glance at his friend's hands told him that they both had blood on them; Axel all over his clothes and Demyx had it on his hands.
When they made it to a sink, Demyx turned on the faucet, washing the blood off his hands.
Axel pulled the sweatshirt off over his head, the bottom of his shirt sticking to it as it ended up getting pulled halfway off. The teen struggled with his clothing, until he felt gloved hands moving to help. Stopping his fight with the clothes, he let Demyx strip the hoodie and shirt off of his pale body, but blinked quizzically. "I could've kept the shirt on."
The blonde took one of Axel's wrists in each hand and moved them to the wall, effectively pinning his friend. "Hold still," he whispered, voice laced with something Axel couldn't recognize, but, oddly, liked.
When Demyx lowered his head, tongue drawing a line from his navel to the hollow of his neck, still not releasing the other's wrists, Axel arched his spine, eyes closed. "Nnnn," he gasped, hands curling up as his friend began to tease one of the redhead's nipples with a tongue.
Axel's breath quickened at this, a hand moving to Demyx's back. "M-more," he gasped, panting softly as Demyx obliged with a smirk.
Mouths met in an impromptu kiss, both pairs of eyes closed. Demyx's hands roved down his friend's underweight body as his tongue forced past the other's lips, meeting that of Axel's. Gloved hands made their way towards the other's jeans, playing about the bare skin just above the top of his pants.
The musician moved his mouth to the red-head's neck, sucking on it, biting gently at intervals, leaving what would become a purpling hickey. The door began to open, startling the two apart. Axel pulled his shirt back on, only having time after that to snatch his sweatshirt before Hayner entered, making a face at the pair.
"Fag," the lower-classman growled at them, noticing Axel's ruffled hair and clothing. "Couldn't you go fuck somewhere else, instead of the bathroom?"
Demyx opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by his friend, who smirked at Hayner. "What? Jealous?" In response, Hayner only rolled his eyes before turning and leaving.
However, the moment was gone, and both friends felt awkward. Lust could only do so much.
"Hey, Axe?" Demyx started, but stopped when the redhead took a handful of pills from his pocket; Axel's way of 'forgetting' things.
Swallowing them dry, he shook his head, red hair falling into his face. "Forget it. It doesn't mean anything," he mumbled, as if trying to convince himself. When his friend's arm snaked about his shoulder, Axel pulled away.
The older put his hand in his pocket, expression all that of someone wounded, drawing away. "Look, Axel--"
"'Look', nothing, Demyx!" Axel shouted loudly, leaning back against the wall and putting his long hands over his face. Doing his best to calm down, he closed his eyes, a hand over them as he continued speaking. "This isn't your fault. It. Fucking. Never. Happened. Got it memorized?"
"Axel," Demyx began, following him out of the bathroom, trying to grab his shoulder. "Hey, man, wait. I'm sorry, I--"
"I said, forget it!" Axel yelled firmly, whirling around to face the other, ignoring the students and teachers who poked their heads out of their classrooms. "It never happened, got it?" Calming down, he grabbed Demyx's collar, pulling him over to whisper. "I have a date today. A date, with a guy I really like. Please, please don't let me mess it up, alright?"
The blonde half-smiled, throwing an arm around Axel's shoulders, glancing down at him. "Sure thing! So, what movie are you planning on seeing, anyways?" After he waved a hand at the others in the hall, they went back into the classrooms, leaving the musician and the pyro alone in the hallway.
The redhead blushed, scuffing his well-worn shoes against the bluish-grey carpeting that the school used to cut budgeting prices. "I'm not sure. Figured I'd let him choose."
"That's adorable!" Demyx squealed, taking his friend's gloved hands in his, and beginning to dance in a circle, Axel reluctantly half-skipping, half-tripping with him.
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"Hey guys!" Olette smiled, sitting down beside Roxas and Pence at their lunch table. Roxas was doing his best to ignore Hayner and his cousin, who were sitting at the next table over. Pence waved cheerily at her, glad that Olette had joined them, so she could try and help to get the blonde's mind off things.
"Huh?" The blonde asked when he heard her. "Oh, hey." Staring off into space, he folded his hands, apparently looking at the cafeteria wall.
Long black hands plunked down on the wood as Axel leapt onto the table, boots clunking loudly. "Yo!"
Hand clapped over his ears as Roxas yelled back, "volume!" He carefully removed his hands when Axel closed his mouth, but remained crouched on the table. "Erm. Hi."
The druggie only smiled and waved, his expression unusually calm.
Olette bit the inside of her cheek, watching the older boy who had taken the lack of teachers in the room to sit on the top of the table. "Good to see you again, Axel." However he didn't answer. "Pence, Roxas, you two up for going to the mall today?" When she said that, Axel perked up, vivid gaze turning to Roxas.
Pence shrugged his agreement with a grin. "Sure! I'll go!"
The blonde looked around, meeting Axel's eyes. "Err…"
"Hey, Roxy, we still on for later?" Axel put his hands behind him, leaning back as he spoke.
"What?" Roxas blinked, before he caught on and nodded. "'Course we are," he affirmed.
With a wide grin, Axel ruffled the younger's hair with his hand, before remarking, "I'll leave ya to your friends, then." Getting up, he made his way back to his own friends, swinging onto his own seat beside Demyx.
"Well?" Marluxia asked, "How'd it go?"
Axel only replied with a thumbs-up, before leaning his elbows on the table, zoned out.
Turning to Zexion, the brunette smiled, tilting his head coyly, "Can we go to the mall, too, Zexy?"
"Don't see why not." He answered shortly, shrugging.
"Oh, good. Let's see The Break Up, then."
Demyx tugged on a lock of Axel's hair, getting his attention. "Have fun."
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Axel shoved his hands nervously into his pockets, scuffing his feet against the sidewalk. Pushing the hood he wore down, he glanced about, looking for the shorter blonde. His black clothing was getting hot, though he had only been waiting for a few minutes.
"Axel! Axel! Hey!" Roxas waved wildly, black and white jacket falling off of his shoulders as he ran. Upon reaching the other, he was snatched and pulled to the redhead, who kissed his cheek with a smirk. "Hey!" the younger objected, blushing furiously.
Releasing the boy and running a hand through his red hair, Axel grinned at him, before pushing open the door. "Ready?"
Roxas nodded, face still tinged pink. "Yeah."
The two entered, the air conditioning a relief to Axel. "Alright, movies, movies, movies. Pick one, Roxy, baby."
"Don't call me that," the blonde mumbled with a blush. "Erm… The Fast and the Furious 3 Tokyo Drift sounds good, and it's on in half an hour."
"I can think of three things we could do until then," Axel smirked, only to have Roxas tug sharply on his ear.
"Go take a cold shower. We'll walk around the mall."
"But there aren't any showers in the mall, Roxy!" The first protested, but still followed him further into the mall.
Roxas ignored the comment with good humor, letting Axel follow him. He slipped into a Gamestop and proceeded to examine the PS2 games while Axel went about his own business.
"The DaVinci Code's a game now?"
"What?" Roxas asked, distracted by the other games on the wall.
"Remember that movie? With the masochist suicidal albino monk guy?" Axel moved to Roxas' side, still looking at the back of the case.
"Oh, Silas? Yeah, I saw it. It was okay. Why?"
"It's a game now," the older teen persisted, shoving the game into his face. "And Silas is in it."
"That's great; can you put it back now?" Roxas sighed, turning and giving Axel his attention. The redhead obliged, putting his gloved hands back into his pockets.
Roxas left the store, Axel once again trailing behind him. "Err… you can walk beside me, you know that, right?"
This time it was Axel's turn to blush, however pale it was on his already pale skin. Long legs moved faster to catch up, then his strides evened out as he dug in a sweatshirt pocket, coming up with a few pills, which he swallowed quickly.
"Those aren't good for you," Roxas narrowed his eyes, having watched the other take the drugs.
"And it I told you they were for a mental illness?" Axel picked a bottle out of his messenger bag, rolling it between his fingers for a moment before handing it over to Roxas.
The bottle was a third filled with white pills, the kind the pyro had just taken. An official-looking white label marking it as prescribed to one "Erickson, A.", treatment for bipolar disorder. Roxas blinked at it, before handing it back over. "Sorry."
Axel took it back with a shrug, putting it back into his bag. "We've got," he checked his watch, "15 minutes until the movie."
Still a bit unnerved by Axel's 'confession', Roxas did his best to brush it off. "Pretzels?"
"Pretzels!" Axel agreed, grabbing the other's hand and nearly dragging him to the food court. "Kind?"
"Cinnamon sugar," Roxas answered almost immediately.
Amused, Axel got out his wallet, remarking, "you like sugar, don't you?" When Roxas only made a face at him, he snickered, ordering and handing over the bills. Upon receiving the pretzel, he handed it to Roxas, leading him to a bench.
The pair sat down, Axel's long legs splayed out in front of him, a tripping hazard for those walking by that way.
The blonde ate the pretzel by picking it apart piece by piece. It was one of these pieces that he offered Axel, who pulled his glove off before taking it, not wanting to get the cinnamon sugar on his clothes.
Upon eating it, he blinked, licking the sugar from his fingers. "How do you manage to eat that whole thing? It's like… crack in food form or something."
"'Crack in food form'? You need a hobby, Axel."
All he received was a grin and a shrug before Axel rose, remarking, "We have 5 minutes."
"5 minutes? What the hell? Why didn't you say anything!"
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By the time the two made it to the theater, complete with tickets and candy, the previews had already started, but, oddly enough, the theater was empty.
Carrying the candy, popcorn, and drinks, Axel performed a skillful balancing act, slipping through the seats after Roxas, who, for the second or third time, offered to carry something, only to be turned down.
"I've got it under control," Axel objected when he asked again, careful with his footing as the lights dimmed. He set down their things, handing Roxas a bag of Twizzlers and his Coke. After placing his own Coke in the cup holder, he kicked his feet up onto the back of the seat in front of him.
"Don't do that," Roxas hissed, a Twizzler in his mouth.
"Why? It's not like anyone's in here," Axel answered as he cocked a brow at him, smirking.
Silence from Roxas for a moment before he rested his own feet on the seat in front of him. "Good point."
"My diety diet stick," the redhead laughed, snagging the candy from Roxas' mouth and putting it in his own as he contemplated the other's action. "Damn, I'm a bad influence, aren't I?" Only receiving a roll of the eyes from Roxas, he shrugged. His eyes roved down to Roxas' shoes, green eyes widened. "Holy fuck, Roxy! Your feet are huge!"
"Shut up, Axel!" Roxas yelled, face a brilliant shade of red by this point.
Throwing his hands up, he answered around the Twizzler, "Alright, already. The movie's starting."
Things were quiet between the two for most of the movie, until a car blew up, flames covering the screen as other characters looked on in horror.
"What the hell!" Axel shouted, "Han just died! How does that work?" Leaping up out of his seat, he continued to yell.
"Sit down, Axel! Just watch the movie!"
"My favorite character just died! I don't want to watch anymore," he pouted, folding his arms. "Plus," he continued with a smile, "Running around's much more interesting."
Finishing off his Coke, Roxas stood, going along with his date. "Sure, then."
The redhead slipped back out of the seats trotting up to the screen, where he looked up towards the ceiling.
Roxas made his way to Axel's side, hands in his pockets as he looked up.
Axel shrugged, leaping up onto the stage in front of the screen. A gloved hand reached down to help Roxas up; the help was accepted, and soon both were standing on the stage.
"This can't be good for your eyes," Roxas mumbled, sitting down on the stage.
"Never said it was, babe." With that as a warning, Axel walked to the sitting boy, pushing him onto his back with a smirk.
The aqua eyes widened with surprise, but he let the older teen move him into lying on the wood. He could feel his heart rate speed up much more rapidly than he thought possible.
Straddling the boy, Axel balanced himself with skill that told of previous experiences. Lips met as one of Axel's hands, now ungloved, trailed along the collar of Roxas' shirt, causing the boy's mouth to open in a moan, which the pyro took advantage of.
Roxas' hand caught in a fistful of Axel's shirt, pulling the older boy down on top of him, relishing each touch that Axel's practiced fingers play on his bare skin, as the pale hands have made it under his shirt.
Breaking apart for air, Axel surveyed the other with a bright eye, smirking to himself before both hands slipped under the black shirt the boy wore. As he made to take it off, he was distracted by the movie, which was ending with a particularly soppy kiss between the male and female leads. Of course.
"That's anticlimactic," he remarked, reluctantly letting the other up. As he stood, he wrapped an arm around the other's waist, pulling him to himself, slipping the gloves back on. Digging in his bag, he pulled out something metallic and pressed it into one of Roxas' hands.
Leaning against Axel's side, the blonde examined it. "A key?"
"Yeah," Axel shrugged self-consciously, "To my place. So you can stop by whenever, you know?"
Roxas smiled slightly, straightening, "I get it." He pocketed the key, face tinged pink and his normally messy hair even messier, thanks to Axel.
"Anyways," Axel tried to get back to the present, "Shall we go?" Taking his hand (not without further blushing), Roxas nodded, walking with him out of the theater.
The older grinned down as him, twining their fingers together. Never one to miss an opportunity, that one.
As they exited the theater, they nearly ran into a larger group of people going into another one.
"Just my luck," Axel rolled his eyes, letting go of Roxas' hand to wrap an arm around his waist and pull him to his side, eyes narrowed at the others; Hayner, Sora, Riku, Pence, and Olette. "Charming."
Hayner stared at Axel for a moment, eyes flicking down to Roxas, who was allowing himself to be held to the redhead's side. "You're both fags!"
Axel's free hand clenched into a fist as he refused to answer.
"Hayner, leave them alone," Olette began, but was cut off by Sora waving a hand.
The brunette folded his arms, staring Axel down. Blue met green as the pyro resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, and thus ruin the moment. "You do know he's my cousin, right?"
"So? I figured just because he's related to you doesn't mean he's as boring as you are."
"Mature," Riku scowled, rolling his eyes.
"If I wanted you opinion--" Axel began, but was cut off by Roxas.
Almost shyly, Roxas put his own arm around Axel's waist, to the older teen's amusement. "Sora, could you just leave us alone?"
Sora paused for a moment before he nodded, moving past the pair, followed by the rest of his friends, though Hayner spared a moment to flip Axel off.
The redhead snorted at this, before looking down at Roxas. "You know, this position's quite comfortable."
"Don't get used to it," the blonde mumbled with a blush, pulling away.
Axel noticed this and bent down to kiss him on the cheek fondly, whispering, "You sure do blush a lot for not liking it."
"I didn't say that!"
"If you say so, babe," he grinned, taking his hand once more.
Roxas was fighting a losing battle against the pet names the older teen was giving him, and he knew it. Giving in, he rolled his eyes at his date good-naturedly.
Axel ran a gloved hand through his hair, before glancing back to Roxas. "So, when can I expect to do this again?"
Surprised at the question, it took the blonde a moment to fully register. "Oh, another date?"
"You're catching on, that's good. Yeah, another date, got it memorized?"
"Well, I'm pretty much free every day after school, though there's always family and homework."
Thinking this over, Axel nodded. "What about Wednesday, then?"
"That'll work… but," Roxas was looking down at his feet, shy once more. "Does that mean this date's over?"
This time it was Axel's turn to blink in surprise. "Wasn't planning on anything, really. Should we wander around a bit more, then?"
"I'd like that."
Alright, reply time. (Couldn't get to everyone; space, time, etc. I'll try to fit more next time).
freak7289, SummerDayDreamer, and FlamingDranzer: You have to feel sorry for the guy. I've been putting him through way too much, and now I've revealed he's bipolar.
XfantasymoonX: Lemon comes soon enough. -wink- You and Aka are both on me about that.
Demsa: 'Gin and Sin' is one of the best AkuRoku AU's ever, I swear.
BurntN'Bloodybandaids: Thank you for the compliment. I'm trying to make it a bit happier.
A Dangerous Romance: I'm impressed the only problem was that it's short. Plotdevelopment will be coming in chapters 5 and 6.
Silly-Pizza-Hut: You'd better work on 'For the Love of Demyx'. I mean, I had a dream about Demi-kun. That's your omen. And molesting makes me sad. Like when Sephy decided to. Long story. (Axel: No hearting, got it memorized? I've got Roxy!)
amandazgreat: That was perhaps the most interesting review ever. I love the metaphor.