Chapter Two: Roxas

After that tragic first day Roxas didn't want to deal with anymore.

To make things worse, as he scrambled into the house he discovered that his parents were absent. He dropped his keys on the counter, hearing the clatter of metal to marble. When he did this, the impact of the keys on the counter caused the folded piece of paper to flutter to the floor.

Crouching down, Roxas retrieved the note and read through it quickly. His mothers hurried cursive dotted the sheet, some spots blotched as apparently she was using a broken pen.

'Dear Roxas,Your father and I have decided to go out for our anniversary. There is stuff to make sandwiches in the fridge. Feel free to invite some friends over, but not over four, and make sure they're out by ten. You've got to get some rest for high school.

Love you,

Mother'

Roxas wrinkled his nose at his mother's visible stupidity. Of course she knew he'd find something for dinner, and she also knew that he'd only invite Namine, and Sora over. He would have invited Kairi, but he had learned more times than once in middle school that in the evening she was usually too concerned with homework. It was hard to believe that back in sixth grade, the red head could have hardly cared less.

As the sun dropped behind the trees in the backyard, and the day wore into night Roxas took the time to eat and then call Namine and Sora. Sora couldn't come because his grandmother was in the hospital, but within five minutes Namine was entering the house with a bag of movies she intended for Roxas and her to watch that night.

Roxas gave her a spectacle look. "Jesus Namine, we can't watch that many movies in one night." He gaped. Namine rolled her eyes.

"Of course not." She grumbled. "I'm leaving some here for you." She set the American Eagle Bag, which contained all the movies, down on the floor and produced one from the top of the stack. Roxas knew it to be an old eighties flick that Namine had been blabbering on about for weeks now. It reeked of chick flick.

"Sixteen Candles? Namine, you can't be serious."

Roxas found out that the blond was all too serious, and within five minutes Roxas had been wrestled to the couch and was watching as Long Duck Dong invaded America. Luckily, Roxas had managed to fall asleep before Jenny had started to take pills to deal with her period.

A few hours later, Roxas was being shaken awake by a worried blond.

"Roxas." Namine hissed repeatedly until Roxas groggily opened his eyes. He took notice to the fact that he was leaning against Namines exposed shoulder, but really didn't give a care as he felt his stomach lurch.

"Roxas, are you okay? You feel hot?"

And that's how it started, Roxas spent the rest of the week with food poisoning which he'd contracted from the ramen he'd eaten for dinner. This left his immune system weakened and sometime around Saturday he also started getting symptoms of the Flu.

Now, according to his mother the flu was nothing to miss school over. Especially not high school. So once Roxas was no longer heaving into the toilet every few seconds he found himself standing at the bus stop on a particularly chilly morning not feeling all too well.

And things always had to get worse for Roxas it seemed. Sneezing into his hand Roxas looked up to see the lanky form of a particular red head that he didn't favor in the big picture of things.

"Poor Roxy seems to be the victim of the flu!" Axel so plainly pointed out, giving Roxas a sympathetic but at the same time amused expression that Roxas despised.

With a groan, Roxas propped himself up so he could glare at the red head. "Didn't I tell you to fuck off?" He spat in frustration. Roxas momentarily stopped to sneeze again, he heard a sigh escape the lips of the red head.

"Roxy, I never cared much for directions. Got it memorized?" Axel questioned. That annoying line. Got it memorized? What kind of fucking idiot thought something like that up. And oh how Roxas hated the way the red head said his name!

"Don't. Call. Me. Roxy." He fumed in frustration, tightening his grip on his jeans.

"Now Blondie, don't be so rude." Was Axel's next statement. Roxas didn't exactly favor that pet name either. Actually, at the moment he just kind of wanted to bite Axel's head off. Then maybe he wouldn't be able to bother him anymore. Because he'd be dead. Roxas then felt a hand on his hair, which he almost swatted away but was too busy sneezing again.

The hand was removed, lucky for Axel. Roxas heard footsteps as the red head left, and then a rumbling indicating that the bus was there.

"Thank God." Roxas muttered, which seemed to be his favorite statement as of late.

The day was hopelessly slow, beyond slow.

Alas, the bell rang to Roxas' relief and he sank down in his chair before collecting his things. As he stood up, the room spun briefly. Too relieved to be out of class however, Roxas dragged himself out of the classroom to the bus loop. He plopped into his seat, and almost immediately felt a weight beside him.

He already knew it was Axel without even bothering to look over. Roxas noticed that Axel was smiling. That was fine by Roxas as long as he didn't--

"Did you have a good afternoon Blondie? Miss Me?"

--Talk. Roxas scoffed as he heard the question, thinking of a million responses.

"Yeah right." As usual, Roxas was glaring at the seat as his surroundings started spinning again. He heard Axel sliding down in his seat but he didn't remove his gaze from where he was glaring. He felt sick as everything continued it's nonstop spinning.

"So you had the flu?" Axel finally asked.

"Yeah, and your just making it worse. Leave me alone." Roxas griped, fisting his hair, as a sign of exhaustion.

Sadly, Axel again did not get the message and continued twenty questioning the irritated blond.

"What if I don't want to? Roxas, whatever did I do to make you hate me?"

Roxas could come up with a million reasons.

"I don't know, you stared at me on the first day. You completely raised my creepy level to rates that it's never reached before. Need I say more?"

Again, Axel had to reply. Did he ever know when to stop? Roxas didn't exactly hear his statement however, the room spinning too much for him to care.

"Save me god!" He whined. Apparently Axel thought he was talking about him because the red head again continued bantering on and talking.

"God isn't going to help you here Roxy, after all he is telling you to talk to me. He wants us to be friends." He teased.

Roxas' cold glare was again focused on Axel. He seemed to really enjoy that expression lately.

"Do you want me to punch you again?"

He heard Axel chuckle, as he started wagging his finger like a mother punishing her child.

""Not a good idea Roxy. My father, the principle. Remember?"

There was that pet name again. Roxas was tempted to end his consciousness, not because of Axel, but because of the spinning. His gaze traveled to look at the window tempted to bash his forehead against it.

"Roxy-- are you okay?" Axel questioned. Roxas heard the rustle of movement as Axel leaned closer to him.

"Fuck off, I'm mad at you." He could hear Axel shaking his head.

"No I don't mean that, you look kind of pale."

Roxas opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a choked sound. Shutting his eyes, he felt his head come in contact with the glass of the window. Everything went black. The only thing he could recall was Axel exclaiming 'dammit.' Roxas could feel himself being lifted and then he was out.