Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of that stuff.

I took way too long to put up this chapter, I know. X.x' This chapter gave me a lot of trouble. Huge thank yous and hugs and cookies to those of you who favorited, reviewed, added this to your alerts and just put up with my slowness in general. It means a lot!

White lined paper was crinkled into a ball for the hundredth time that day as Zexion tossed it into the now overflowing waste basket beside his desk. The teen was attempting to write a paper that was assigned to him as summer homework, but he simply couldn't concentrate. He glared down at the clean sheet of paper that now sat in front of him for a moment before turning his gaze away and gnawing on the end of his pencil. His mind was refusing to function properly thanks to what he'd done two nights ago. A defeated sigh escape his lips as he put his pencil down and moved away to fall onto his bed and bury his face into the pillow.

Thoughts of Demyx rushed through his mind, making his stomach churn. For the past few weeks, Zexion's little secret about liking Demyx as more than a friend had been driving him crazy. So much so that he did something he told himself he'd never do just two nights earlier when the blonde, along with Axel and Roxas, had spent the night at his house.

The slate-haired teen had been unable to sleep and was staring at the ceiling when he felt Demyx shift beside him and tap his shoulder, asking if he was awake. The two lay there for more than an hour talking about all sorts of things, though Demyx did most of the talking. When they were about to go back to sleep, however, Zexion couldn't hide his secret any longer.

"Hey, Demyx?" he whispered softly, half wishing the blonde wouldn't hear him.

"Yeah?" he replied.

Zexion froze for a minute, thinking of simply saying "never mind" and falling asleep, but that didn't happen.

"Uh… I'm not really sure how to say this, but…" he began, feeling Demyx's eyes on him in the darkness, "I think I love you."

The other teen was silent for a moment and Zexion feared he had broken his most precious bond. Tears almost began to prick at the corners of his eyes until he heard Demyx begin to speak.

"I love you too, Zexy," he stated simply. Zexion's heart skipped a beat, but then he realized the blonde wasn't finished talking.

"You're my best friend," he finished with a yawn, rolling over onto his side.

The smaller teen felt his heart sink. Best friends, right. That's all they'd ever be. He was silly to think Demyx would feel the same way about him. At least he hadn't scared the blonde away.

Zexion lifted his head slightly before resting it back down on the pillow so he was staring at his bedroom door. He tried desperately to cast the memories from his head, with no avail. He was just about ready to get up and slam his head against the wall when his cell phone jingled, alerting him to the new text message, and pulled him out of his own thoughts. He reached for the gray cell phone on his bedside table without getting up and opened it to reveal the message. It was from Demyx.

Me, Axel and Roxas are going to the mall. Wanna come?

He stared blankly at the message for a moment before hitting reply. He really didn't want to go anywhere at the moment. The teen was much too embarrassed to see Demyx anyway. He began to type in a new message.

Sorry, Dem. Maybe another time.

He was about to put the phone down when another jingle sounded from the object. He sighed and read the new message.

Why?

What would make a good excuse? The boy tilted his head in thought, then began hitting the keys again.

I'm sick.

Oh… Ok…

A small wave of relief washed over him after receiving the last message. Zexion would probably kill their happy mood anyway. He placed his phone back on the little table beside him and rolled onto his back so he could stare up at the ceiling. A summer breeze blew in from his bedroom window, making his hair softly tickle his cheek. Zexion closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The scent of the late summer air was calming, though not enough to sooth him. He wondered tentatively if he should try writing that paper again, but before there was time to process that thought, a soft knock sounded from his bedroom door.

"Come in," he called, thinking it was probably his mother wondering why her son had been hold up in his room for the past two days. By the time he realized he was wrong, it was too late.

The door cracked open just enough for the blonde to stick his head around it and smile at Zexion, whose eyes had gone wide with shock. Demyx opened the door a bit wider and stepped inside, closing it behind him and making his way to sit beside Zexion's body on the bed. Zexion felt his face heat up.

"Since you said you were sick I thought I'd come visit you so you didn't get lonely," said Demyx, smiling down at his friend. A few seconds passed and the bright smile changed to a worried look when the blonde noticed the other boy's flushed cheeks.

"Zexy, do you have a fever?" he cocked his head to the side.

"Ah, um, I don't think so," Zexion stuttered out. He knew he was blushing but he had hoped that his friend wouldn't notice the sudden color that flooded his normally pale face. It got worse with Demyx's next action, which consisted of lowering his head down to slate-haired teens and pressing their foreheads together. Zexion squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his stomach do a flip and his heart speed up.

"You're awfully warm, Zexy!" Demyx yelped, pulling away, "Maybe you should take some medicine." He began to get up, probably to find something to bring down the "fever" but the stunned Zexion quickly spoke up, zooming to a sitting position.

"N-no! I'm alright! Really, Dem. Nothing to worry about," he raised his hands defensively while silently praying that the sudden color and heat in his face was fading.

"But if you don't take medicine you won't get better!" Demyx complained, "You always tell me that when I'm sick."

Zexion's mind flailed over the words for a moment, unable to think of something to say to get him out of this mess. Finally he settled for, "A-actually, I'm feeling a lot better now!" What a mistake.

"Oh!" Demyx exclaimed, excitedly, "You can come with us then!"

Zexion stared at the taller boy in shock. How the hell did he always manage to do that? That darn music obsessed blonde always managed to drag him out even when it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Right?" the blonde asked, blinking at his friend.

Zexion sighed. He still couldn't believe this guy had actually forced him to change his plans. He simply nodded as Demyx bounded to the middle of the room before spinning around to face the other boy with a huge grin.

"Axel and Roxas are waiting outside! I'll meet you down there."

With those last words, he was out of Zexion's room and headed for Roxas's car.

xXxXxXx

It was almost midnight when Zexion finally got back home. After being dragged to the mall, his three friends decided they should go out to eat and then he got dragged all the way to the beach. The beach! At nearly ten o'clock at night! What kind of person goes to the beach that late and stays for nearly two full hours? Not to mention the fact that Demyx and Axel thought it was a great idea to go swimming and forced Roxas and Zexion to come along. The slate-haired teen rolled his eyes, making his way to the bathroom to take a nice warm shower and get all the sand and salt off his skin. Why was it that he hung out with Axel and Demyx again?

Review, review, review!!

Believe me, I need the motivation. School started up and I've been crazy tired lately, but I'll do my best to get the next update up a lot sooner than this one was. Sorry this chapter was so short, but at least it's something, right? -shot-