A/N: Bonus chapter today! Next one should be up, hmm...maybe next weekish. I have 6 more written, but I've gotta get on top of the new stuff. Drop a review and let me know what you think tho, so I know I'm writing this for at least one person. Haha :)

"Axel!" The redheaded boy turned to the sound of his name, but quickly resumed his walk when he saw the body to whom the voice belonged. "Oh, don't run from me." Riku said to himself. He then shouted to his friend. "Do you really think I can't catch you?" He took off after Axel, who tried to outrun him, but he quickly got close enough to reach out and grab Axel's shirt, stopping him. "Why are you running?"

"You're pissed at me, and I know you're pissed at me. I don't want to fight with you." Axel said, breaking Riku's grip.

"I have a right to be upset, you know." Riku said, putting his hands on his hips. "What you did was out of line."

"Bullshit." Axel said, crossing his arms. "You're only saying that because Sora's mad at you."

"I just wanted you to talk to Roxas. Assure him that you're not going to stop singing. Tell him about the band that you and Demyx are gonna make that's going to be better than Dearly Beloved. I didn't want you to come over and molest him immediately. I didn't even know you were into guys." Riku said.

"Me neither." Axel scratched the back of his neck. "I don't think that it's guys. I think it may just be him. There's something about him, you know. He's just attractive. Not that it matters really. Sora's that mad, huh?"

Riku's put his thumb and index finger millimeters apart. "I was this close to a kiss, and then Roxas comes and messes that up, but now because of you, he won't even talk to me. I can't hug him, or hold his hand or get close to him because of how mad he is at me for letting you touch his baby brother. He's finally physically in my life again, and I can't have him."

"It was as much Roxas' fault. I didn't get him naked, and I didn't make him jump on me." Axel said.

"Irrelevant. As far as Sora's concerned his kid brother is pure and you're the evil old man who is trying to corrupt him." Riku said.

"I'm as old as you are." Axel said, pouting. "I'm not at fault here, I didn't corrupt him. You can't be mad at me. Sora's gonna let it go." Riku shook his head. "Fine, then how about we find you someone else who will touch you?"

Riku scrunched up his face. "Shut up, Axel. I..." Riku took pause. He had to process his thoughts about what he wanted to say.

"You...?" Axel gestured for Riku to continue with his hand."

"I...it's not love, I don't think. Not yet. But I care a lot for Sora, and I want us to be together, even if it means I have to get back in his good graces before we get physical."

Axel put his hands up to stop Riku. "Okay, okay. Don't get all sappy. He's going to come around."

###

"Are you ever going to come around?" Kairi asked Sora. She, Sora and Naminé were lying on the beds in Sora's shared room. "Every time I've seen Riku he just looks sad."

"He thought it was a good idea for Axel to come here and take advantage of Roxas. I don't have to come around on that." Sora said in a huff. "I'm Roxas' big brother. It's my duty to protect him from creeps like Axel. I know his type. He's going to use Roxas, and move on to the next young thing. I'm not letting Roxas make that mistake."

Naminé twirled her hair in her finger as she thought. "For now." She muttered.

Sora turned to look at the girl who spoke. "What do you mean by that?"

Naminé was timid, and didn't want to say anything to upset the boy, but she knew she wanted to speak her mind. "Well, first off, what does Roxas think about this?"

Sora furrowed his brow. "He was being molested by someone way older than him, how could he have wanted that?"

"You haven't even talked to Roxas about it?" Kairi asked, astonished. "That's not fair to him."

"He's too young to know what's good for him." Sora replied. "I know what's best."

"You're only two years older than him. Axel is the same age as Riku; he's not some predator going after Roxas. How do you know Roxas didn't initiate something?"

"Why would Roxas...?" Sora started

"Why would Axel?" Kairi interrupted. "I'm not super close with Axel, but he's close to Riku and by proxy is my friend. I've never known him to be interested in guys..."

"Roxas hasn't show interest either!" Sora said emphatically.

"Then neither of them likes guys. It could have been anything that happened between them, but you didn't even talk to Roxas before you labeled Axel as some predatory monster." Kairi said.

Naminé decided to jump back in the conversation since Kairi had interrupted her thought. "So, as I was trying to say, you can only "protect" Roxas for so long. He's going to eventually make the same mistakes we all need to make to grow."

"He doesn't need to make the mistakes if I tell him what he needs to know." Sora said.

"You can't be there for him all the time." Kairi said.

"Twilight High is massive, Sora." Naminé said. "You are barely going to see him at school. He's going to make friends that are different from yours. You have Kairi, Riku, and their friends. Roxas and Xion have grown pretty close, and with Xion come Hayner, Pence and Olette. He's going to have more than just you."

Sora scoffed at Naminé. "I know that. I want him to have friends. I just want what's best for him, Axel is not good for him."

Naminé could feel the scorn coming from Sora in waves and she was feeding off of it to fuel her words. "You're lying. You want what's best for you. The party was proof. It worked out so well for you. He didn't want to socialize, and you let him sulk in his room. His favorite band was here, and you let him stew. The band breaking up was just a cherry on top because it would upset Roxas more. If he remains withdrawn then he remains yours."

Sora was incredulous. "You are so far off base. I think you should go." Sora said moving to open the door. "Now." Naminé and Sora locked eyes the entire time it took Naminé to reach the door.

Naminé turned around as she crossed the threshold. "Sora, I'm sorry. Not for what I said, but because there is going to come a time, probably sooner than later, that Roxas is going to see how you try to mask your control and call it protection, and he's going to resist you, and he's going to resent you. I'm sorry that by then, you won't have listened to anyone about how Roxas needs to be able to do things on his own, to make his own mistakes, and you won't see him pull away until he is gone. I'm sorry that he will hate you. I'm sorry that he will leave you. I'm sorry that you won't believe me until it's too late."

Sora slammed the door shut in Naminé's face. His breathing had grown faster as he seethed over her words. "Who the fuck does that bitch think she is?"

Kairi gasped audibly. "Sora! That "bitch" is my cousin. "

"So you agree with her?" Sora said scowling.

"I didn't say that, but you can't call her a bitch because she's giving you a point of view that is very possible." Kairi said.

Sora shook his head. "I don't believe this. How am I the bad guy for wanting to protect my brother from people like Axel who are just going to hurt him?"

"You don't know that though. You don't know Axel. You didn't ask Roxas what he felt. You only care about what you're feeling about it all. That's what Naminé was saying."

"If you're just gonna take Naminé's side, then you might as well go too. I don't want to hear it." Sora said, opening the door. He walked away and collapsed into his bed.

"Sora..."

He waved his hand, ushering her to leave. "Shut the door when you go." He said, his voice muffled by the pillow he buried his face into.

Kairi sighed, but resigned herself to his dismissal. She closed the door behind her and proceeded downstairs, where Naminé sat at the kitchen table, waiting. "He kicked you out too?"

"I don't understand what's going on with him." Kairi responded. "This isn't the Sora I remember. I've never seen him angry. He used to be so happy-go-lucky on the island."

"Guess he's changed." Naminé said. She stood out and smoothed out her white dress. "Should we go talk to Roxas?"

Kairi shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't want to be involved if this is going to become a big thing. Sora's upset at Riku for bringing Axel in. He's upset at me for siding with you. I don't want to have to choose sides between family and friend." As Kairi spoke, they slowly made their way out of the house and onto the sidewalk heading toward the center of town. "He's going to come around when he realizes that he's just pushing us away."

###

Xion and Roxas were waiting at the usual spot for Hayner and Olette. Xion lay on the couch while Roxas walked around, looking at the posters adorning the wall and the random furniture and things that have built up in the little alley alcove. He came across a poster for Dearly Beloved and quickly turned away, resisting the urge to tear it down. He sat on the nearest chair in a huff.

Xion noted her cousin's manner of sitting. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked, pulling herself up into a sitting position and looked at Roxas. "I know I've asked you that a few times since the party, but three days have passed and you and Sora both seem miserable."

"What's there to talk about?" Roxas asked, slumping further into the chair. "I don't have any friends, my favorite band is gone, I'm stuck in this city I don't want to be in and my mother is still dead. I would say things couldn't get worse, but that will just lead to some horrible thing I didn't think of happening."

"You have me and your brother. Riku, Kairi, Naminé; you have friends." Xion said.

"I know, but that doesn't count. You're family. I wouldn't say I'm friends with Riku and Kairi just because they're Sora's friends. I haven't really talked to either of them since coming here, except yelling at Riku when I found out about the band, and I may have squeaked at him when he saw me naked."

"That's another thing, you made out with one of the hottest boys at school. That's gotta count for something." Xion said with exuberance. "You don't know how many people will be jealous of the new kid who was in the throes of passion with Axel Lea."

Roxas blushed. "I don't think that counts either. I mean it was...fun." Roxas literally couldn't stop thinking about the night. It replayed in his mind constantly. The taste of Axel's lips, the feel of his hands on his naked back, the scent that lingered in his bed that he feared would disappear. "So it was good, great even, but a one-time thing is hardly something for anybody to be jealous about."

A gentle kiss had soon built up into a hungry fervor as Roxas and Axel's kissing became more intense. Axel's hands roamed Roxas' back, pulling him in closer. Roxas ground his hips against Axel. Both boys wished that the layers of clothing on Axel would not be in the way.

Before a chance to remove anything more was had, Sora had pulled Roxas off of the redhead. Roxas quickly became aware again of his surroundings and extremely embarrassed of what had just happened. Roxas turned away, only to find Riku in the doorway, holding an amused grin and a slight blush. Roxas made a noise, and snatched up his towel before running into the bathroom and closing the door.

"What did you do that for?" Axel asked, sitting up on the bed.

Sora was enraged at the question. He raised a hand to strike but Riku had held it steady. "Sora, calm down." That was the wrong thing to say. Sora turned to Riku and hit him in the arm with his free hand. "Sora, what did you do that for?"

"Will you people stop asking stupid questions?" Sora seethed. "You brought this pervert in to make Roxas feel better and all he does is come and lure him in to some sexual trap." He yelled at Riku.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault." Axel said in defense. "He was the one who was naked and he got on top of me."

Sora stared daggers into the older boy. "Did he kiss you?" Axel shook his head no. "Then why did he get on top of you?"

"To stop me from reading his journal." Axel answered sheepishly. "He's a really good writer. I'm actually kind of glad because mine and Demyx's new band will need a songwriter and maybe Roxas would want to."

"Absolutely not!" Sora shouted. "I don't want you anywhere near my little brother with your hormones trying to get into his pants again."

"If he's even wearing pants next time." The utterance was automatic, a sarcastic quip that flew from his mouth before he could even register the thought.

Riku's eyes grew wide in stunned disbelief. All that he could respond with was "Dude..."

"Get out." Sora grabbed Axel by the arm and pulled him off the bed. "Get out of here. I swear to every fucking god there is that if you come anywhere near Roxas again, I'm going to cut off and feed your dick to some dogs." Sora chased Axel down the stairs and out the door, with Riku not far behind.

Riku watched his friend flee the house. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little?" He asked Sora, placing his hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora shrugged it off and walked a step away. "Sora..."

"Don't." Sora shook his head. His rage had not subsided and he was trying not to lash out at Riku, but Riku was making it hard not to. "This is your fault."

"Sora, I didn't make them do that." Riku contested. "They're both horny, teenage boys. They got caught up in a moment. It's natural. It probably won't happen again."

"It definitely will not happen again, unless Axel wants his balls made into kibble." Sora said. "I am protecting my brother from becoming some rocker punk's plaything."

"You don't know Axel." Riku responded. "He's not like that."

"I know who he is." Sora muttered. His expression grew distant for a moment. Riku attempted to get closer to Sora, but that caused him to snap back to reality. "Don't touch me." Riku dropped his hands to his sides and hung his head. "You should go."

"Sora, please. I don't want to leave if you're mad at me." Riku said. He tried looking him in the eyes, but Sora wouldn't return his gaze. "I'm sorry." He left. All of the rage that had built up inside of Sora came out with force as he slammed the door shut. He fell to the floor and started violently sobbing as memories he tried so hard to keep locked away found their way to the forefront of his mind.

Cloud came rushing downstairs when he heard the reverberations of the slammed door. "What is going on down here?" He asked as he tied his robe shut. He had retired to his room before the party ended and didn't realize it had been over for over an hour already. "Sora?" He rushed to his son's side. "Sora, what's wrong?"

Sora clung to his father, but didn't stop crying. Cloud stayed there with Sora, until he had cried himself to sleep. Cloud carried Sora up to his room, not as easy a feat as when Sora was a child, and tucked him into bed. Cloud looked onto his two children and breathed a heavy sigh. He hoped that it would get better for them soon.

"I was in the bathroom, but I heard Sora screaming at Axel. I don't know what caused it, but I'm pretty sure that he sufficiently scared him off. Riku too, since I haven't seen hide nor silver hair in the last three days." Roxas sighed. "I know he'll tell me he wants what's best for me, but I'm not some child that needs to be watched over. I saw my father carry him into our room that night. He was holding onto dad tight. I haven't asked about it yet. Sora and I haven't really talked at all since the party. I've just been hanging around here."

"There's nothing wrong with that. You needed friends. Pence, Hayner and Olette are good people. You should try and talk to Sora soon though." Xion said. Both of their attentions were caught by the two now standing in the entry to their spot. "Oh hey, it's about time...oh..."

"Sorry to intrude." Naminé said, fidgeting with her dress. "We just wanted to discuss the Sora problem."

###

Riku couldn't stay mad at Axel. At least not for this. They had been friends since Riku moved to Twilight Town, or at least after Riku's first month. Riku was the new kid and Axel was a bit of a bully. When he was younger, Riku was shy, and especially being new and not knowing anybody, this made him an easy target.

One day, Riku was sitting alone at lunch, as he always did, while Axel was sitting with his friends. Axel swears up and down it was an accident, that he was just talking with his hands while eating his spaghetti, but on that day, a meatball from Axel's fork made it way to Riku's face.

Riku decided that that had been the last straw. Axel and his friends were so consumed by laughter that they hadn't noticed Riku pick up a fistful of his spaghetti, or that he had made his way to their table, or even the look of murder in his seafoam eyes, but without any of them any wiser, he dumped the spaghetti right on top of Axel's head.

The situation could have gotten far worse between the two boys, except a random voice threw out the two words that diffused the tension between the two: FOOD FIGHT!

They tried to plead their case to Vice Principal Leonheart, but she wasn't hearing it. "You two are the culpable parties; therefore you two will be disciplined as such." She turned her attention to Riku specifically. "Don't think you're going to get special treatment just because you're my son. We'll talk about this more at home tonight." They each earned a week of detention. The first day they were livid at each other. Didn't speak a word to each other, but spent most of their time glaring at each other.

As the week progressed, they slowly started to talk. By that Friday, Riku was at the same lunch table as Axel, laughing with them all like they'd been friends for years. When Kairi moved to town, she would join them on occasion, but Kairi was more sociable than Riku, so she made friends much more easily. Riku really only had Axel and his friends.

So yes, Riku was pissed off that Axel had caused Sora to become upset with him, but things weren't going to change. "Where were you heading before I stopped you?" Riku asked.

"Back to Saïx's. We're gonna practice, or we are going to try. It really depends if they're willing to free their hands from each other." Axel replied. "Demyx didn't even want to see Saïx and now...I don't even know if they've left each other's presence since."

"That would make using the bathroom awkward." They laughed. "Maybe they will be less touchy if I join you. I could use something to do. Sora won't talk to me and Kairi and Naminé were heading over to see him last she told me." Riku balled his hands into fists. "I just miss him. It pisses me off that he's making this into such a big deal."

Axel noticed Riku's fists and took a side step away from his friend. "Don't hit me. I don't know what to tell you. Invite him over to the rehearsal, maybe?"

Riku gave him a disbelieving look. "That's a stupid..." He paused.

"Maybe form your thought before speaking, hmm?" Axel mused.

"Shut up. No, maybe it's not a stupid idea. Maybe he just needs to see you in a better light. One that isn't casting Roxas' shadow." Riku said.

"Or he'll come to kill me for the fun of it." Axel retorted.

"You'll have protection, assuming the lover boys get off of each other long enough to help you." Riku said.

"What about you?"

Riku laughed. "Axel, if I were to stop Sora from murdering you, I would never get him to ever touch me again. I'm not sure your life is worth that to me." Riku grinned at his friend, who was glaring at him through a pout. "Sorry meatball." A small smile escaped Axel's pout at Riku's nickname. "Also, Sora's kind of scrawny. If he kills you, maybe you deserved it. Survival of the fittest and all."

Axel shrugged. "Yeah, but I can't fight back, or you'd kill me. And you're low-key terrifying, Riku." They had reached Saïx's shortly after. "Well, are you gonna text him? Call him? Send a smoke signal?" Axel asked, brandishing a lighter. "Fire is a great way to communicate." He said behind a wide smile.

"I'll text, that's fine. I doubt he'll come. Worth a shot though right."

New Message

8/9/15 14:43

Riku Leonheart: If youre not busy and not still mad at me i think it'd be super cool if you came to see me. im with axel and his band. i know that if you just hung out with him youll see hes not a bad guy. roxas wont be here. worst case scenario i help you dispose the body ;)

Riku Leonheart: I miss you

Riku held the phone in his hand, hoping that Sora would text back soon. Almost immediately, his phone vibrated and he looked down at the screen.

Sora Strife: What's the address?

He wouldn't admit to anyone that he was wrong, but he didn't want to stay mad at Riku, and maybe he had overreacted at him a bit. Not at Axel, no, but maybe at Riku. So when Sora saw the two texts from him, he couldn't help but smile. It wouldn't be the ideal location to be, but maybe if he gave Axel a sliver of a chance, it would make Riku happy. And there was always homicide as a back-up plan.

It took Sora about twenty minutes to get to Saïx's from his place, which was almost enough time to detangle Saïx and Demyx. When he rang the doorbell, he heard what memory served him as Axel's voice shouting, "That's it! Saïx get the goddamn door. Not you, Demyx! Sit the fuck down."

Sora didn't recognize the man at the door. It must have been Saïx. He had an unamused look on his face. "Hi, Saïx?" He nodded. "I'm Sora, I don't know if you were expecting me."

"Riku mentioned you would be coming." Saïx said gruffly, taking out his annoyance on anyone he could. "Well, come in." Sora quickly walked past the man and entered the living room where the others were waiting. Axel had set himself up as a shield to keep Demyx and Saïx apart. As Saïx entered behind Sora, he rolled his eyes. "A bit much, Axhole."

Sora laughed far too hard at Saïx. "Oh my god, Axhole, that's perfect."

"Sora." Riku frowned.

"It was funny." Sora said. "My understanding is that I don't have to like him." Riku kept frowning. Sora rolled his eyes and a formed a smirk with his lips. Sora crossed over to Riku, still frowning, and wrapped his arms around his waist. Riku was surprised. "Are you smiling yet?" Sora asked against Riku's chest. He felt Riku's arms around his shoulders and took that as a yes.

"Well that's not fair." Demyx whined. "Why do they get to hug without you getting in the way?"

"Because you two have not stopped in the last three days, and they haven't seen each other in that long. Plus, we need to practice. If we prove we are good, better than Larx and Lusha, then maybe we can get Zex back on our side and we won't just have to perform covers." Axel said.

"We still have to find a drum player." Demyx whined. Sora's eyes grew wide, not just annoyed by the boy who only spoke in whines, but fearful that Riku might say something.

"You guys need someone to play drums?" Riku asked, shifting his glance to Sora.

"Riku." Sora started, staring at the silver-haired boy.

"Yeah, why do you know someone?" Saïx asked.

"I swear to god." Sora continued, turning his body, ready to pounce.

"I do as a matter of fact." Riku said, ignoring Sora's body language.

"Don't say it." Sora finished.

"Who?" Axel asked.

"So-" Sora jumped on Riku and caused him to fall against the sofa.

"Ra?" Axel finished for Riku. "You can play the drums?" He asked the brunet currently internally conflicted about strangling Riku. "That's cool." Axel thought for a moment. "But no thanks."

"What?" The four boys said.

"Why not?"

"Axel, we need a drummer."

"Is this because of his brother?"

"I wouldn't be in your band anyway." Sora said.

"I know." Axel said, smiling slyly. He was hoping his reverse psychology would work, because there was only so much pissing off he could do to Sora without Riku getting upset at him too. "See, we have a certain sound we're going for. Your island calypso drum probably isn't the sound we're looking for."

It dawned on Riku what Axel was going for, but anger clouded Sora's perception. "Show me a drum kit and I'll make you eat your words."

"There's one in the garage, follow me." Saïx said. He led the boy through the kitchen with Demyx not far behind.

"You're lucky he didn't see through that." Riku said to his friend after they were left alone.

"I know, but it worked right?" Axel said. "Is he any good?"

"It's been awhile. He didn't do it much with my presence. He was a hyper child, and they thought it would give him focus. I don't even know if he's been keeping up. He didn't bring drums with him from home, so maybe he gave it up. He wants to prove you wrong though, so maybe." Riku said.

Demyx came running in. "Axel, oh my god, Axel come see this, it's like, oh my god."

Riku and Axel followed Demyx into the garage, where Saïx was standing mouth agape. "This is exactly what we need. This is better than what we need. He would show us up if we had him in the band."

"That's why we gotta practice, Saïx." Axel said.

Sora held a concentrated look as his limbs flung wildly about the drum kit. How he managed to stay in control was beyond the others. He played for five minutes before he started to grow tired. It had been several months since he'd played and he had given it everything to prove his point. He threw the drumsticks to the ground and looked at Axel. "Is my calypso island drumming good enough for your guys 'image?'" The last word dripped in sarcasm.

Demyx and Saïx both walked over to Sora giving him high regard. "We need you in this band, Sora." Demyx whined. Sora was going to get sick of that quickly. "We have to show up Larxene for abandoning us."

"She was dead weight." Saïx said. "Please, Sora we need you in this band with us. What will it take?"

He looked from Saïx to Demyx and then to Axel. Sora chuckled, and then said, "Get rid of Axel."