A/N: Ah! You're reviews were incredibly inspiring. So here you have it…Roxas meets Axel…Sora meets Riku…and of course: more running! Thanks to all reviews…you're all helping me write this, in a way.

Beta credit goes to Riku-stalker—the amazingly efficient and wonderful beta!

For details on this story (rating, warnings, summary…etc…) check out the first chapter.


Track Season

Burned Ballet Shoes

His heart was pounding inside his ribcage, slamming against it with every hard footfall that rang in his ears in time with his breathing, which had become sharp, clipped, and powerful. His legs were careening into the black surface, the soles of his shoes condensing every time they hit the ground and then springing up again when his feet lifted into the air: carrying him forward one more step.

Sora shut his eyes briefly, blinking sweat out of his eyelashes and ignoring the sting of salt in his eyes. He was one pace behind number twenty-four and there were only about a hundred meters ahead of them. He absolutely had to win this. The eight-hundred meter had always been his father's favorite and best event, and somehow Roy felt that it should be Sora's as well. In short, Mr. Atari would be pissed off if Sora didn't win. And Sora knew this, which is why the silver-haired kid in front of him was getting on his nerves, which were all screaming to run faster and just win. But shit that kid was fast.

Destiny High track team had done well so far; Sora himself had performed excellently. They didn't have times yet, but Sora thought he had gotten second in the sixteen-hundred and either third or fourth in the fifteen-hundred. Both times he had been a step ahead of number-twenty four, which was why it just hurt that this kid was now the one in front of him. Come on Sora, you have to win! He screamed to himself, willing his legs to move faster. He picked up his pace, ignoring the dizzy feeling in his head and his screaming lungs, which couldn't expand enough to get air. The blue-eyed boy was so close to number-twenty four that he could feel the vibrations of the other boy's footfalls, hear his labored breathing…

And then the two of them passed the white line. Sora couldn't hear anything by his ragged breath; he couldn't feel anything but his legs, which felt like jelly as he collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving for air. He didn't even know if he had beaten number twenty-four. Vaguely, he saw his friends surrounding him, Roxas extending a hand for Sora to pull himself up with. Sora didn't take the offer, not sure if his legs could support him yet.

"Well, at least drink some water, Sora. That was a really impressive race," Kairi commented, putting Sora's blue water bottle on the ground near the boy's head. Sora rolled over and grabbed it.

"Number twenty-four. Did he finish in front of me?" Sora rasped, screwing off the top of his water bottle and taking a mouthful. He saw Roxas glance over at Demyx before his best friend's eyes flicked back to him.

"Um…it was really close. I don't know who finished first, Sora," Roxas said truthfully. Sora rolled his eyes.

"I don't think I won."

"Come on Sora! Be optimistic about it! I'm sure you won!" Selphie cried enthusiastically. Sora smiled at this and sat up.

"So how have all your events been? I know I raced with a few of you," He asked, looking around at his other teammates.

"Well," Demyx started, "The sprints start in about fifteen minutes and a bunch of us are running the four-hundred, but Roxas did really well in the five-thousand," Cheers sprang up from the Destiny Island team, accompanied by a lot of 'way to go, Roxas!'s.

"Me and Selphie did alright in the girls' eight-hundred; well, alright for how many girls there were," Kairi put in helpfully.

"There were quite a few gals racing that event; I was surprised. But yeah, you two did really well," Rikku added. Reno walked up to the group talking with Seifer. Neither of them had raced yet, being sprinters. Seifer looked at Sora, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Heard you lost your last race," He said with a sneer. Sora glared at him.

"Did better than you would have," The blue-eyed sophomore quipped in reply.

"Still, losing is losing, kid," The senior commented.

"Hey, lay off, Siefer. You know you couldn't have run that well," Roxas shouted, staring up at his team member with a death glare on his face. Siefer laughed a bit, but took Roxas's suggestion and backed off, moving to the outer edge of their team circle. Sora picked himself off the ground and moved next to his best friend, still glaring at Siefer, who stared right back. "Don't worry 'bout it Sora, you did great in your eight-hundred," Roxas said quietly. Sora just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nice racing out there, everyone," Their coach said, moving to the center of the circle with Cloud. "Can't give you all your times right now, but you all have done real well. Keep it up. We've got our sprints next, starting with the four-hundred. That's Sora, Kairi, Selphie, and Reno. After that we've got the two-hundred, which is Demyx—" The named junior punched a fist in the air with a whoop, "Demyx," Cid continued, ignoring the blonde-haired kid's outburst to continue down the list, "…and Siefer, and then the one-hundred, Demyx and Siefer again. Get to it!" Cid ordered with a smile, dispersing the circle with a wave of his hand. "Sora, you wait up." Sora turned and moved back to his coach and Cloud. "You sure you want to race this next event? We could still scratch it," Cid said, his eyes serious.

"I'm sure coach, it'll be fine."

"You ran a hard race just now, Sora, and the four-hundred isn't your last event today. Are you're sure you want to run it?" Cloud said, staring at Sora with eyes that were almost glaring. The sophomore got the distinct idea that Cloud didn't want him to run. Sora did a quick mental check. His legs were still feeling tired and there was no way that he was going to be able to run his best in the event. But still…either endure Cloud and Cid's wrath, or his father's. Sora looked his two coaches in the eyes.

"I'm going to run the four-hundred. I have to," He said firmly.

"No one's making you, Sora," Cid added; amazed at how firm Sora was being. Sora looked down momentarily.

"I'm going to miss my start…" He said after a slight pause, than dashed off down the side of the track to take his place in the starting line. Both coaches looked after him with curious eyes.

"Kid's damn stubborn about these events he's in…" Cid commented, Cloud nodding his agreement.

---------------------------------

Roxas stood a bit separated from his other team members, who had claimed an area of ground right next to the track and splayed out along it with blankets, backpacks and a multitude of MP3 players and speakers. He watched as Sora and Reno raced their four-hundred. The competition was tough; Hollow Bastion had some very good sprinters this year, as did Twilight Town High. In comparison to what Roxas knew Sora could do, the brown-haired sophomore was doing poorly in the race. Sora shouldn't have taken this race and saved his energy for his relay, Roxas thought, a scowl on his face when his blue eyes followed his best friend around the track. There was no way he'd even scrape a place above seventh or eighth. Roxas sighed, wondering why Sora was so adamant about racing in the four-hundred. Cloud had come back after talking with Cid and Sora with a cross face—which wasn't so unusual for him—and complaining about 'goddamn stubborn kids'.

Suddenly a hand placed itself on Roxas's shoulder and the blonde whirled around in surprise to glare at whoever had snuck up on him. It turned out that it was the same boy who had nearly ran him over when he was watching Sora start his sixteen-hundred. Roxas glanced at the boy with blue eyes that were still glaring. The most obvious thing about the kid was the flaming red hair that sat on his head, defying gravity with its spiky-ness. The eyes were the next most noticeable thing; they were bright green, with a faint rim of black eyeliner that made them stand out even more and gave the kid a rebellious look. There were two small up-side-down triangle tattoos right beneath his eyes which contrasted with his skin nicely. Out of habit, Roxas looked at the number on the boy's jersey: twenty-nine.

"You know, they were calling your number for about five minutes before the start of the four-hundred. You missed your event," Roxas stated flatly, shrugging the redhead's hand off of his shoulder.

"Guess I did. Thought I'd come talk to you instead," The boy answered. Roxas gave him an incredulous look.

"What the hell?" He asked, wondering what kind of moron would skip his event to come talk to some kid who wasn't even on his own team. The boy shrugged and held out his hand.

"I'm Axel; Roxas, right?" He asked. Roxas ignored the extended hand.

"How do you know my name?" Axel shrugged.

"Overheard you and that miniscule brunette." He answered. Roxas cracked a smile at Axel's description of his best friend.

"You must mean Sora, then."

"If that's his name. He's quite the runner; although not doin' so well in this race," Axel said, looking out at the track where Sora was about ten places from the lead. Roxas went back to scowling.

"He insisted on running the four-hundred, after he ran a killer eight-hundred. I'll bet he's wishing he'd scratched right now," Roxas explained, sighing.

"I saw the eight-hundred. My best friend ran in it. Riku, number twenty-four." Roxas nodded in recollection of the silver-haired teen. "You know, mini brunette gave Riku the most competition I've ever seen. Usually he's ahead of the pack by a mile. He's gonna get real pissed of if he can't beat Mini over there," Axel said.

"Yeah, well Sora may not be competitive in the least, but he's got a thing for impressing his father, so Sora's gonna keep giving your friend competition if he has to," Roxas said, looking up at the tall redhead. Axel laughed.

"Mini better pick it up then," He teased. Roxas's relaxed face turned back into a glare.

"Lay off Sora. He's already awesome. And you better not let him hear you're nickname for him," Roxas said, immediately defending Sora. Roxas didn't know why, but something about Sora always made him a bit protective of him. Maybe it was Sora's rather innocent nature…all that happiness. Something in Roxas wanted to preserve that, keep Sora from turning into what he himself had fallen to a few years ago. Axel held up his hands.

"Man, cool off. I didn't mean anything by it." Roxas rolled his eyes and turned his back to Axel, his eyes once again following Sora. The brunette had slipped a place and was now in eleventh.

"He gave up," Roxas commented, still watching his friend.

"What?" Axel asked.

"He's in eleventh now. He knows he's not going to win, so he's saving his energy for the relay."

"Fuck! How many events is Mini in?" Axel exclaimed. Roxas shrugged.

"Five. I think the only reason he does it is because his dad makes him. Sora's got a thing for 'proving himself' to his dad, like I said."

"Man, the only reason I run is because my dad thought I should be on the football team; you know, 'running is wussy'. I would've joined ballet if the teacher had accepted me…" Axel said with a laugh that sent a pleasant shiver down Roxas's spine. Axel had a really…nice laugh. Unique. The blonde looked at the boy standing next to him.

"If I was a ballet teacher, I wouldn't have accepted you into my class either. I don't blame her at all," Roxas said under his breath, but loudly enough so Axel heard him.

"It probably didn't help that I burned her kid's ballet shoes once…" Axel provided.

"Well, there you go," Roxas stated matter-of-factly. "So, what events do you race, besides the four-hundred?"

"I'm a sprinter. Best of the best. I run the two-hundred and the one-hundred, and I'm gonna kick everyone's asses," Axel answered with a smirk; Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"I hope Demyx and Siefer kick your ass," Roxas commented. "Actually, kick Siefer's ass all you want, but I still want Demyx to place ahead of you." Roxas said, remembering Siefer's words to Sora after the eight-hundred. Siefer had always thought he was better than everyone around him—severe superiority complex—but if he found out that someone was actually better than him, he'd give that kid hell. So when Sora beat him as a freshman—Siefer was a junior at the time—Siefer had beaten the shit out of Sora. And now the senior was still giving him shit. Sora had always taken it with a simple glare, rarely defending himself. A smile always appeared on his face the moment Siefer's back was turned; Sora trying to hide the hurt in his eyes. If Roxas hadn't been about two feet shorter than Siefer, he would have broken the kid's nose for treating his friend like that. All while Sora begged him not too. Because Sora was like that…way too nice, way too trusting, and way too concerned about everyone for his own good.

Axel's laugh brought Roxas out of his thoughts and the blonde boy scowled at the ground.

"You're a sharp one, Roxas." Suddenly Roxas felt hot breath on his ear, running down his ear canal and crashing into his eardrums, penetrating them and sending a shock to his brain; he froze. "I'll be seeing you." Axel whispered, his lips just brushing Roxas's outer ear. The redhead could feel the sophomore's shudder and smirked. Roxas didn't even move when he saw Sora cross the finish line—thirteenth.

"Who's your friend Roxas? He's hot," A voice said, floating in through the same ear that Axel had just…kissed? Roxas wasn't sure. He thought his brain had shut down.

"Uh…what friend?" He stammered, turning to Selphie. The girl let out a giggle.

"My god, are you frickin' in love with him already?" She teased. This snapped Roxas out of whatever daze he had been in.

"He's a fucking delinquent, Selphie. I'm not going to fall in love with a delinquent!" He exclaimed.

"Roxas, you're sort of a delinquent too…ya know," She said offhandedly. He stared wide-eyed at Selphie, his mouth forming the shape of an 'O'.

"I am not a delinquent, and you know it, Selph," The brunette girl gave him a look that Roxas read all too well. "Selphie, don't bring this up again, not here. It's over. Just drop it…please?" He asked, taking a different path. Selphie put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, flipping her hair expertly.

"Fine. I won't bring it up now. But I still think you like that number twenty-nine…" She taunted, dancing away from him and back to Kairi, who was giggling at overhearing her friends' conversation. Roxas glared at the two of them and stalked off to go comfort Sora, who was sitting rather dejectedly on the edge of the track, watching the sprinters line up.

"Hey, Sora," Roxas greeted, sitting next to his friend. "One bad race; it happens. You were exhausted before that anyway," Roxas consoled, putting his arm around Sora's shoulders. The brown-haired boy didn't respond, other that to hang his head. Roxas shook Sora's shoulders a bit with his free hand. "Come on Sora, you're not allowed to be depressed, remember?" Roxas joked.

"I know, Roxas. Thanks. Really. I'm just going to sit here for a bit, if you don't mind," Sora whispered. Roxas sighed.

"I'm gonna watch sprints then. Pick yourself up for the relay, okay?" Roxas said with a smile that Sora didn't see. The blue-eyed track star nodded his head in acknowledgement. Roxas stood up, a tall man catching his eye. "Oh, Sora, your father's coming over here." Sora's head snapped up, but Roxas missed the look of worry in his best friend's eyes. The brunette could feel his father's stare and he knew the look in them well. He hadn't 'performed well enough' to suit his father's tastes.

"Sora, I'd like to speak with you," His father said. It wasn't a request, but a demand. Sora avoided Roy's gaze.

"Talk," He said, not wanting to get up.

"Privately. Come with me," Sora didn't dare disobey him again, so he got up and walked away from his team at his father's side. "So, you're last race didn't go over too well," Roy prompted.

"I guess I was tired from my eight-hundred," Sora mumbled. His father nodded.

"You have a relay in approximately fifteen minutes. You're running the four-hundred. You have a record time of fifty-nine point eighteen seconds. And you will beat that time today, or I swear, tomorrow will be spent running with me for the whole damn day," His father snarled. "Run until you pass out; run until you're spitting blood. Sora, I'm doing this for you, you know that. I want you to be just like me in my prime. Make me proud," Roy said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. Sora nodded, never looking up once, and all but ran back to where he was sitting previously. I never make you proud, dad. I can'tSora thought with frustration, plucking viciously at the short grass all around him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Someone asked from above him. Sora looked up…and the number twenty-four stared back at him. His blue eyes roamed up a tall, toned body to the face of a boy with devilishly gorgeous features and silver hair that floated around his shoulders. Sora put his eyes back on the ground to keep himself from staring for too long. He saw number twenty-four sit down next to him out of the corner of his eye. "Are you okay?" The question was repeated.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Not a good day, that's all," Sora said quietly, his eyes blinking several times.

"You ran a pretty good eight-hundred," The sliver-haired boy commented, staring at Sora with an intensity that made the brunette feel a bit…uncomfortable. "Shit, you were seriously good. I don't even know who won that race yet, but it's going to be really close." Sora nodded. "God, do you ever talk?" Number twenty-four asked.

"What's your name?" Sora whispered.

"Riku Hukia. And you?"

"Sora Atari," Sora mumbled, knowing the response he was bound to get.

"Sora…nice name. It suits you," Riku commented. This made Sora look up, surprise written on his face. "Why so surprised?" Riku asked, lying back on the grass to prop himself up on his elbows, his stomach facing up. Sora shrugged.

"Normally people just start going on about my dad…Atari and all…" Sora said quietly, bound by a shyness that puzzled him and was all-together very foreign. Riku laughed a bit.

"Roy Atari was brilliant—and no offense or anything—but he's over. There are other pros out there right now, and a lot of them are actually better that your dad. Someday, I plan on being one of those people; what about you?" Riku asked. Somehow, the comment got through to Sora and the brunette smiled. Riku just stared at the boy's lips; full, pink, absolutely edibleHey look, it's sunshine in a can. Riku thought with wonder.

"I don't know what I want to do when I grow up. Probably run though. I love it," Sora said truthfully. He did love running, despite the chore his father always made it to be. Riku smiled at Sora.

"You know, there's a group of us having a party after the meet today. Sort of an exclusive thing, you know: you're fast enough, you can come…Why don't you stick around for a bit after the medal ceremony, you can get on the ferry a bit later tonight. How's it sound?" Riku asked, a glint in his eyes that Sora didn't recognize. The brown-haired sophomore hesitated.

"Who's gonna be there?" He asked. Riku shrugged.

"Anyone who's invited by one of the Twilight Town kids. The kids from all the different cities are spending the night at the school, so it's not so hard for a few of them to sneak out for a bit while the others are 'exploring the town'," Riku explained. "I have a feeling your little blonde-haired friend's going to show up tonight, actually."

"Roxas? What do you mean?" Sora asked, his eyes flicking over to his friend who was cheering for Demyx.

"Red, spiky hair, green eyes, tall, skinny? Axel. Number twenty-nine. I think he's…interested…in Blondie," Riku said with a smirk. "How much of a chance does he have?" Sora blushed a bit, even though the question had nothing to do with him. It was just such a…forward question.

"Um…there's a chance, I guess. Roxas is sort of, I don't know, picky. He won't date wimps," Sora said.

"I don't think Axel's looking for a date. He just wants to screw around a bit."

"I don't know. Roxas hides behind a scowl, so it's hard to tell if he likes someone, of if he actually does think that so-called person is a complete moron."

"Well, Axel's one stubborn piece of ass, so I'll bet you that by the end of the night, blondie and him'll be making out in a corner," Riku said confidently, a smirk playing on his lips. Sora rolled his eyes, not really worried about Roxas. Cloud's younger brother had done just about everything by now, mainly because his father was gone so much of the time, so Sora didn't really care what Roxas did; the kid could take care of himself. And if the occasion arose where he couldn't, Cloud would beat the shit out of anyone who so much as breathed on Roxas wrong. So his friend was well looked-out for, in Sora's mind. He'd kill to have a brother like Cloud sometimes…"So, are you going to come then?" Riku asked. Sora sighed.

"I'll have to ask my dad, he was expecting me to go back with him right after we get our times and everything," Sora answered, going back to idly picking at the grass.

"Go ask him, you'd have fun at the party," Riku said, standing up with a smile. Sora nodded a bit.

"Thanks for the invitation."

"You earned it. Good luck in your relay," Riku told Sora, turning his back and dashing off to the finish lines of the sprints to congratulate his red-haired friend. Sora swore when he realized that Axel had gotten first, although Demyx wasn't that far behind him. The brunette cheered up a bit when he saw Siefer's face with a glower on it, apparently he hadn't done as well as he would have liked. Not that Siefer actually trains. Sora thought with a smirk, getting to his feet to go over to Demyx and Roxas. He joined the laughing pair with a beaming smile, patting Demyx on the back.

"Nice race, Demyx!" He cried happily, still smiling. Demyx nodded his head in thanks, still out of breath from his sprint. It was good thing that there were ten minutes in-between each sprint for the runners who had back-to-back events.

"No one can beat me!" A loud cry split through the air. Sora saw Roxas roll his eyes.

"In your dreams, pyro!" The blonde-haired teen yelled back. The redhead who had yelled his confident remark turned to face Roxas, a smirk on his face. He held up his hand as if he was holding something in it.

"See the blue ribbon? Right here? Uh-huh. All me…me and my wins," Axel yelled good-naturedly. Roxas rolled his eyes again and turned his back to the green-eyed sprinter.

"Ignore him Demyx, he's a bastard," Roxas growled, even though Demyx didn't appear affected at all by the redhead's outburst. That was just how Demyx was. Roxas seemed to be the only one out of the trio that was actually reacting to Axel's comments at all. "I can't believe him!" Roxas ranted. "I mean; that is so damn rude. You'd think he would have some manners! I hope he breaks his fucking leg!" Roxas said heatedly. Demyx and Sora shared a glance, twin smirks on their faces. They seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Sooo…Rooooxassss…" Demyx started, a smile spreading across his face. "That redhead, hmmm? Did I see you two talking just the other minute?" Roxas blushed bright red, shaking his head.

"No, he was talking to me," He stated.

"Yeah right, Roxas. You like him, or at least think he's the tiniest bit attractive," Sora teased, spinning around in a circle on one foot.

"I do not!" The blonde sophomore protested avidly. "He's a delinquent. Too arrogant, cocky, bad-ass, confident, full of himself…he's got the weirdest eyes too…" Roxas continued. Demyx burst into laughter that could have passed for giggles at the last comment.

"Jeez, Roxas. You don't even know the guy and you've definitely fallen for him!" Demyx cried happily. Roxas glared at his two friends.

"Shut up you two. You have no idea what you're talking about!" Roxas said, stalking away from Sora and Demyx, leaving both of them in convulsing laughter.


Thanks for reading everyone, please, don't hesitate to comment! I love hearing your thoughts!

-Wykkyd