Chapter 3
We had sat in silence for a bit after Zexion's mysterious comment before Larxene jumps up. "Hey! That's cheating!" She shouts and I'm brought back from my reverie.
"So?" Axel asks, smugly, standing as well. At least he knew he cheated, that, in itself, was an improvement. Well, from what I knew anyway, when they started fighting I always retreated to my bed room. In fact that's where I was heard now.
"Tell me when they're done?" I ask Marluxia as I stand and the bickering continues in the background.
Marluxia nods and I take Zexion's wrist and pull him down the hallway with me and into my bed room. The weirdness of it (Cause Zexy just had to know I liked him by now) didn't register until the door was closed behind .
"Why're we back here again?" Zexion asks and I sigh, leaning heavily on the door.
"I.....I don't like fighting," I say quietly, looking down at my feet before looking back up at the slate haired teen sitting on my bed with a sheepish grin on my face. I lat my hands fall from the door knob and they hung awkwardly at my sides.
Zexion blinks at me before nodding, a look of understanding in his eyes. I pushed off the door with my hips and sit next to Zexion on my bed. No, dammit, my mind wasn't in the gutter.
"How would you know?" I ask quietly adverting my eyes from him after a couple moments of silence.
"My dad's in jail and my mother never cared about me, so I'm stuck living with my grandparents," He answers bluntly sounding almost apathetic, the only thing off was a small hint of sadness under toning his voice.
"Oh..." I say lamely looking at my hands in my lap and feeling slightly awkward for asking and getting such an honest answer.
"I haven't always lived with ym grandparents, though, it only started around the end of seventh grade." My head snaps up to look at him on its own accord as I remember what he had said earlier at lunch. "How long's it been since you've had a social encounter in school?" "Since seventh grade."
Before I could mention it, Zexion continued further. I was dropped off with my grandparents' only minutes after my dad was pulled from our house in hand cuffs and being read his rights. I was surprised my mom still remembered me 'cause she never acted like it before. We had waited out the school year, there only being a few weeks left anyways, and with no word from my parents or they're lawyer, we moved. Not too far, just far enough for me to change schools. My dad's arrest wasn't big enough to make the papers but the rumor mill at my middle school was horribly high. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the kids in my grade level at that time still remember it."
"Oh Zexy....that's horrible..." I was so busy feeling sorry for him I didn't notice the use of his fan given nickname. "What did your father do?"
Zexion shook his head, a distant look in his eyes as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, hands under his chin, holding up his chin, as he stared at my blank bed room wall deep in thought. He quickly came back to earth with a quick shake of his head and looked at me. "You're the first person I've ever told..." He says quietly.
"Don't worry, your past is safe with me," I reply, gentle smile on my face. I lay my head on his shoulder and felt kinda odd, him not knowing about me when he was the quiet one. I lifted my head and proceeded to right this wrong. "All I remember is the loud arguing coming from anywhere and everywhere inside the house. Waking me in the middle of the night, preventing me from falling asleep, interrupting my make-believe little kid games, preventing me from my small bits of homework and guitar practice." I close my eyes, hoping to keep the tears from poring over. "That and my mom's blood-shot eyes-whether from crying or lack of sleep, it never mattered-her tear stained cheeks from when she did cry, as watched me when she thought I was asleep like the guardian angle I liked to believe she was. And that forced smile when it was night time and I wasn't sleeping, but she wanted to keep me happy...That was always the worst part. I had only ever wanted to see her happy and I never truly did until he left." Zexion didn't need to ask who this unsaid "he" was, for he knew we both knew, that quiet moment of understanding hanging in the air as we laid out our hearts and glad that our secret was safe with the other.
I let out a soft sigh, a single tear sliding down my cheek, out through my eyes, clenched shut trying to hide from the bare truth. Zexion brushed the tear away with his thumb and I carefully opened my eyes slightly. All I saw, though, was Zexion's face mere millimeters away from mine. I didn't have time to react before his lips were on mine and my eyes slipped shut again. I opened my mouth slightly and he took the invitation, tongue darting in. I pressed my body against his, absorbing the kiss.
Just as quickly as they appeared, his lips disappeared, leaving my face stained crimson, as he looked away, his hair keeping me from seeing his face. I sighed and felt the red recede from my face as I went back to looking at my hands in my lap, feeling more exposed and awkward than before.
"I-I'm sorry," Zexion says quietly. I don't know if I should be happy or sad that Marluxia decided to chose that moment to appear at the door, but he did. "You need to bleach the carpet, but they're done fighting." He says in a bored tone before leaving.
I sigh letting my shoulders sag as I continue to look towards the doorway. "What happens here stays here?" I ask know immediately what his answer would be.
"Yes," Zexion says solidly. I knew my friends were just playing me at lunch. I knew it but somehow.....somehow I could help but hope they weren't. I get up off the bed and walk out of the room and to the living room, making a stop in the laundry room to get the bleach.
Axel had a wad of tissues on his nose and ice on his left eye and cheek. Larxene's lip was dripping a bit of blood; her right eye almost swollen shut, and bruises littered her shoulders.
"So....who won?" I ask conversationally as I get on my knees to scrub the blood out of the carpet.
"Tie," Larxene answers.
"What happened back there, oh lover boy?" Axel teases, suggestively, standing and favoring his left leg.
"Nothing worth remembering." I reply, sourly. I really wanted to have to remember it, to count it, to let the world know, to let anybody know, to be able to know I was welcome in Zexion's waiting arms at any given moment. But apparently it meant nothing to Zexion, and he didn't want any of that.
"That sucks," Larxene says licking the blood from her lip and taking the ice pack Marluxia offered her, placing it over her swollen eye.
I stand as I finish cleaning the blood out of the floor and stretch, as Zexion walks in the room. I walk past him, resisting the temptation the brush shoulders with him, and put the bleach back in its respective spot in the laundry room and throwing the towel into the washer. Before getting a can of air freshener to hide the bleach smell so my mom wouldn't know. I walk out into the living room, spray it a few times, and set it on the coffee table as I walk over to the arm chair and flop down, purposely avoiding Zexion, though he probably thought it was for a different reason. I change my mind, Zexion's only smart in school. He can't read a person worth shit much less tell what someone was feeling. He was only good in the academic area. Which was fine, everyone had a weakness....right?
"So....ignoring the obvious, how is everyone?" I ask in way of conversation.
"Hyper," Axel replies bouncing in his seat, ice and tissues still being held on his face, tissues by tape, ice by hand.
"Bored," Larxene sighs setting down the ice pack and licking the blood off her lip again. I saw the swelling had gone down a bit in her eye, which was good.
"Two for bored," Zexion adds, not even looking at me. Out of shame, embarrassment, or laziness, I don't know.
"Make that three," Marluxia ads in his bored tone. "What about you?"
Flustered. Frustrated. Angry. Confused. Upset. Hurt.... "Four for bored." I nod looking at the clock on the cable box. "If time's any indication, my mom'll be back here in around 20 minutes. She'll give rides home." I say. My mom always made sure to be home by 7:30.
Thirty minutes later...
"I thought you said twenty minutes?" Axel asks the caffeine was still in his system, if the bouncing was any indication, and this was about the fifth time he asked that in the past ten minutes. And it had started raining a few minutes ago.
"Shut up," Larxene growls. She had kept the ice off her eye, so it wasn't any better, but her lip had scabbed over. Axel had removed the tissues from his nose, as it had stopped bleeding a while ago and the ice was off his face to reveal a black eye and major bruising of the cheek but nothing hospital-worthy.
"Being a lawyer," I answer Axel's question again, staring out the window.
"When you're a lawyer you don't always get to get home when you want to." Zexion says turning the page of his book.
"Like you would know," I mutter, then clearer. "She hasn't been out past 7:30 since..." since my dad left. The four unsaid words hung in the air and in that moment I was sure they understood, completely.
"Sleepover?" Larxene throws out.
"I'm game," Axel replies looking at the rest of us.
"Couldn't care less," Marluxia says with a shrug.
"I don't really care," Zexion answers turning his page again.
"So long's I don't have to clean anymore blood and you don't destroy the house," I relent know my mom would probably be fine with it.
"What're we going to do until Axel crashes and we get tired?" Larxene asks.
"Ask each other random questions?" I offer.
"Sounds fun when Axel and Larxene are playing," Marluxia says.
"Ok, two simple rules 1) in clued everyone and 2) don't ask the same question/person that asked you." I say and everyone nods their agreement, Zexion closing his book.
"Who starts?" Axel asks, still bouncing on the couch from the caffeine. Maybe I shouldn't've lat him have the whole can....
"You do." I say stubbornly. He was the one who asked.
"Ok....hmmm...Marluxia, why'd you die your hair pink?"
"It's natural," He growls.
"Suuuu~re it is..." Axel teases.
"Zexion, why do you always read?" The pink-haired teen decides to ignore Axel at that point.
"Escape from reality/boredom. Demyx, if you were to meet your father, how would you react?"
I sigh and think some. "I'd probably get really mad at him. And once I calmed down some, ask him what went wrong between him and mom and why they couldn't fix it." I shrug. "Larxene, why are you such an adrenaline whore?"
"Because it's like a drug and addicting. Axel Boxers or briefs?"
"Boxers, you know that," Axel says suggestively and we all roll our eyes. Axel was gay and Larxene was so stubborn even her husband (if she ever got one) wouldn't be able to get in her pants...or her in his. "Zexion, why do you need to escape reality?"
"No further comment. Demyx, why do you play guitar?"
"It calms me down." oh the irony.... I hold back a smirk at seeing Axel's pouting face for the lack of answer. But the rules never said you had to answer, did they? "Marluxia, why don't you dye your hair?"
"My mom won't let me, she loves it to death. Zexion, why didn't you answer Axel's question?" I hear a knock on the door and we all turn to look at it-knowing Zexion was happy he didn't have to answer Marluxia's question-and I tilt my head to the side, curiously before getting up and answering it. When my eyes fall on the two soaking wet figures in front of me, one looking so pathetic and another looking lightly shameful, my eyes widened fractionally and my breath hitched.
"H-hey gu-ys?" I call over my shoulder "You should probably be getting home now. I'll drive." I finish swiping my set of keys from the peg by the door and swinging on my coat, getting ready to step into my shoes, trying not to cry or hyperventilate.
"Who's at the door?" Zexion asks slightly wary.
"My mom..."
"And? Who else?" Axel pushes gently as they get up and start getting ready, knowing by my reaction, following what i said would be best.
"My father." I whisper, choking out the words.
A/N: Dun, dun, dun! What happens next?! I don't even know totally. This is basically where I am with writing it too so it may be a while before I update cause I'm trying to stay ahead. I do know, however, how all this'll work and that Demy will break down. who comforts him? I don't know. I think Zexy's still too socially out there to be able to, so.....that leaves no one the way I've written it. Oh well, Dem needs to know how it feels to be emo! Bwahahaha! Ok, that was evil.
hmmmm, I think.....I want 3 or four reviews on this chappie before i update. I may be evil and decide to settle for more and not update for, like, weeks. Cause I'm a sadistic little bitch ^^" soooo...Review and you'll get an update! yay! -jazz hands-
To my loved readers (specially THEendOFtheRAINBOW, and Finale Di Amore cause they be nice and deserve huggles and cookies for the reviews and jumping to the fic so quickly, i was sure surprised)
Your Author
~Evelynn