Authors' Note: We know, we know, it's been eleven months since we updated. Trust us, we are just as ashamed of ourselves as you are peeved at us. But before you guys serve our heads on a silver platter, we'd just like to thank everyone who has continued to give our story some attention. It isn't wildly popular, or getting twenty reviews a chapter, but we're fine with that. We started this story just in the name of good fun, and so far, we really do love the story. Those of you who have dealt with our erratic updates and general chaos, you have no idea how much we really appreciate it.

On that note, we'd like to dedicate this chapter to StupifiedNarutard, because of the awesome review she left us. By the time we read the review, we were halfway through this chapter, and it made us feel so much better to know that we must be doing something right. So here's to you, StupifiedNarutard! Thanks so much!

We'd also like to thank our other reviewers:
kingdomheartsforevs
Sweet Wisteria
FabioandRichard4Ever

We really appreciate it, guys! Also, thanks to all of you who alerted or favorited this story and/or our account. : 3

Finally, before we go on to the chapter, we'd also like to say that while we realize our updates are few and far between, we currently have no intentions of abandoning this fic. We really have grown fond of it, and it would be a shame to lose it just because our lives are fairly hectic. So please bear with us! Even though various amounts of time may pass, we DO PLAN on continuing the story!

Ending Song: Hold On – Acceptance

Now, on to the long-awaited chapter. Enjoy!

If I have learned one thing in my life, it's that a twenty-year-old man should not be in high school. Knowing this, I often wonder how it is that I let myself be talked into going back to that very place. I always come up with the same three reasons: writer's block, scheming agents, and lots and lots of leather pants.

It's a long story. One that's not really necessary for you to hear. All you need to know is that I, a legal adult, was coerced into going to high school under a fake identity. My agent, Riku, gave me green contacts and black hair dye and called me Sky Atari.

Riku, nervous that the process would be made void by my lack of social skills, decided to enroll himself at Twilight High along with me. I knew that he would be trouble the very second that he saw Axel.

Who's Axel? Axel is a senior at that school, and most students idolize him. I wasn't one of them, but we'll get to that later. It wasn't hard to see why they would, though. He stands around six foot four, and sports the wildest red hair that I have ever seen. He has bright green eyes, pale skin, and an attitude that reflects his awareness of how every set of eyes in any given room would trail after him. To top it all off, the guy has two black tattoos under his eyes of upside down triangles. He is, I suppose, the epitome of "cool" for these kids.

Maybe if he hadn't started calling me Princess about five minutes after I first met him, I might have felt that draw to him that everyone else felt. But he did, so I didn't.

For the sole reason that I disliked him, my agent, and supposed best friend, decided that I should make him fall in love with me, and write a novel about it. Cruel, I know, but adults who are reading this book will understand that people will do practically anything to save their job if it's being threatened. And to the kids reading this who have never worked a day in their life and still rely heavily on their parents' money, I suggest you put this book down right now, and pick it up in another ten years or so.

So that's the history of this novel. That's how it came to be that a grown man is trying to seduce an eighteen-year-old boy in order to save his career.

"Sora?"

The aforementioned man rolled his eyes and rested his head in his hands. Sometimes he wondered if his agent really wanted him to get work done.

"Yes, Riku?" the peeved novelist called back.

Riku peeked his head inside Sora's office and asked, "Is it okay if I borrow some pajama pants? I didn't bring any with me." Sure, he had phrased it as a question, but Sora knew better. Riku was already out of sight, and Sora could hear footsteps heading towards his bedroom.

"Why didn't you bring pajamas?" the brunet yelled, "Could it be that I didn't invite you to stay the night? Come to think of it, did I even invite you over at all?"
He heard a soft chuckle, and when no other response came, Sora sighed and tried to get back to work. His eyes scanned quickly over the few pages he had written, and he had just clicked the save button when the door burst open once more.

Turning, Sora was almost shocked by what he saw. Riku, clothed only in a pair of his baggiest sweatpants, nudged the door open further with his foot. His arms were full of knickknacks that Sora immediately recognized as his own.

"What the hell, Sora?" Riku shouted as he laid the items on the desk Sora had been working on. He looked through the belongings, throwing some carelessly to the side. Sora dodged a feather duster that had been flung his way and watched helplessly as Riku tore through his things.

"Should I bother asking why you took my stuff from my room?" Sora asked, not really expecting any kind of legitimate answer.

Riku responded with a blank stare, and lifted a handkerchief that had the younger man's initials embroidered on it.

Embarrassed, Sora snatched the handkerchief from Riku and shoved it in his pocket.

"Alright. Listen here, Sora," Riku started, a grim expression clouding his features, "I know how much money you make. Unless there is something I don't know about, then you do not have the money to be buying this stuff!"

Sora opened his mouth, ready to argue that Riku had no right to regulate what he could and could not buy, but Riku cut him off by not so subtly clearing his throat. "And," he continued, "if you do, then can I borrow twenty dollars?" His agent grinned at him, hand held out expectantly.

"…No."

Riku's grin turned into a scowl, and he picked up a magic eight ball that had been lying, forgotten, among Sora's possessions.

"Oh, magic eight ball," Riku started melodramatically, "does my dear friend Sora have twenty dollars he can lend me?" He shook the toy vigorously, and his eyes lit up when he read its answer. "It seems you do have money for me! I'll be needing it as soon as possible. You know, bills to pay and such."

Sora groaned and rolled his eyes at his friend. "You're not getting any money from me," he stated before grabbing his belongings from their various positions around the room. "I'm going to sleep. If you really must stay the whole night, the couch is free." He nodded in Riku's direction and went to his room, more than ready for the day to be at its end.

He should have known it wouldn't be so easy. The moment he had turned off the lights and settled into a comfortable position in his bed, his door flung open and slammed itself against the adjacent wall. The room flooded with light from the hallway, and Sora, taken by surprise, jumped into a sitting position and flailed his arms to protect himself from some yet unseen entity.

He was shoved back onto his bed and felt a painful weight settle on his abdomen. He opened his mouth to scream, but before any noise could be made, he recognized the intruder and source of the weight. It was Riku, of course, who had taken the liberty of sitting on Sora's stomach. Groaning, and trying to calm his racing heart, Sora attempted to push Riku off of himself to no avail. The man looked like an over-eager puppy, and beamed at Sora as if he hadn't just nearly sent the man into cardiac arrest.

"I. Am. A genius," he declared.

Sora rubbed his eyes, and snapped, "What the hell are you talking about? Get off of me, you whale!"

He was completely ignored, as was usual when Riku had something on his mind. "The novel! I'm a genius! What you've written so far? Perfection. It's comedy. It's romance. It's a best seller in the making! How did you ever survive without me?" The man had taken hold of Sora's shoulders and began shaking him, for no apparent reason other than to irritate his friend. And irritate him it did. With all of the strength he possessed, Sora took hold of Riku's arms and shoved him away, successfully rolling him to the other side of the queen-sized bed.

"There are two problems with this. One, that you burst into my room, apparently just trying to terrify the life out of me, and two, that you were looking though my computer!" Sora shouted, truly angry with Riku.

Riku's smile dimmed a bit, but he was otherwise undeterred from his joy.

Sora sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "On a separate note… Thanks, I guess."

His agent grinned as if he had never received a better compliment. For some reason, it bothered Sora.

"Okay. Now I'm going to sleep, and I swear to God, if you ever pull that stunt again, I'm finding a new agent." Sora pointed angrily at Riku as he delivered his empty threat. "Stop bothering me now, okay? Go to sleep." The novelist turned on his side and closed his eyes.

"Alright. Night, Sora," Riku whispered before he tugged the covers up to his chin. He closed his eyes and yawned, stretching out his legs. A comfortable silence surrounded the two men.

"…Not here, you moron! Get the hell out of my bed!"

"My best friend's hot, my best friend's hot..."

Sora pulled his bed covers tighter over his head, his body curling into himself. It was too early for this. Too early for him.

"My best friend's hot, my best friend's hot..."

He pressed his ear hard against the pillow. He stuffed a finger into his other ear. Somehow, even though the noise was muffled...it didn't disappear. And no, the din of the blaring blow-dryer was not the noise he was trying to eradicate.

"My best friend's hot, MY BEST FRIEND'S – "

"WHY DON'T YOU SING THE REST OF THE SONG!"

Riku emerged from the bathroom door and attempted to walk to the bed where Sora now sat, anger blatantly splayed across his face. The cord of the hairdryer stopped him as it pulled taut, forcing him to stumble backwards, stare at the outlet curiously, then shrug before continuing to fluff his long, silver locks.

"The rest of the song isn't relevant."

"Isn't it about someone being in love with their attractive best friend?" Sora said, his voice nearly trembling with aggravation.

Riku's face fell for a moment. A wide grin soon followed, and a hearty laugh after that. "Oh my God...you think I'm singin' about you?" He chuckled again, in that condescending way that only Rikus can. "Dude, I'm my OWN best friend. And I'm beyond hot." He pointed his blow-dryer at Sora, playfully powering it on and off, as if shooting bursts of hot air at him. "Don't be too disappointed."

"Trust me. I'm nowhere near disappointed. I'm thrilled and relieved." Sora threw his legs out from beneath the sheets, letting his bare feet touch the floor.

"You don't look it. Your face... I could create a new Crayola color, and it'd be the shade of that blush across your face."

Sora rubbed his eyes roughly. "Shut up."

"I'll call it..." Riku began while blowing out the ends of his hair, "'Cranky Crimson'."

"Quit it."

"Maybe 'Spiteful Scarlet'...?"

"Are you really – "

"'Vexed Vermilion' perhaps...?"

"Why are you so obnoxious?" Sora grabbed a dirty sock hanging from the edge of a nearby open drawer, twisted it into a ball, and pelted it at Riku with as much force as he could muster. The mini-projectile somehow managed to knock the hairdryer loose from Riku's hand, and he fumbled for the briefest moment to hold onto it. He reaffirmed his grip, then shot his brunet friend a rather displeasing look.

"Someone's kind of pissy in the morning..."

"If you woke up to YOURSELF, randomly singing songs by squeaky adolescents about unrequited love that doesn't mean anything...you'd be kind of pissy too." He slammed the open drawer shut and stood. "And shut that thing off..." He shuffled toward the bathroom and snatched the appliance out of Riku's hand before yanking the plug from the outlet. He tossed it into a cabinet under his sink, then grabbed his toothbrush from off the counter.

"So," Riku began as Sora added toothpaste to his toothbrush and started to take part in basic human hygienics, "are you ready to seduce Axel?"

He paused for a second, but was hardly put off and continued to brush his teeth. "I'm thinking the best approach might be to play hard-to-get. You know how guys eat that up." Sora grunted in response, though whether it was negative or positive was up for debate. "And a special treat for you, now that I think about it..." Riku hurried out of the bathroom as Sora washed out his mouth, cleaned off his toothbrush, and propped it up on a corner of the counter. He began to wander out the door when Riku reappeared, a pair of leather pants in his hands.

"...What are those...?"

"Pants. Of a leathery material."

"Aw, no," Sora whined. "I thought we said we weren't going to...Where did you..."

"You didn't think I was going to leave that store without them, did you? As much grief as you gave me for them, you looked damn good, and I had a feeling you might need them one day."

Sora raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"We didn't leave that store with a receipt...a shopping bag...nothing..."

Riku snorted. "Of course there's no receipt."

"...What are you saying? You didn't pay for it?"

"The hell I didn't. Damn thing was overpriced." Riku grinned proudly.

"Y-you stole the pants? But how...why...you stole them!"

"I've never stolen anything before in my life. I borrow things. And I'm borrowing these for you."

"Did you 'borrow' that car we've been driving, too!"

"THAT was a gift. Relax." Riku shook out the pants, holding them up close to Sora's terror-stricken face. "Now, hurry up and squeeze yourself into these." He eyed the piece of clothing up and down and muttered, " I gotta sneak 'em back into the store by tonight." He caught Sora's gaze; it had plummeted into that of pure distress. "I'm sorry. Did I say 'sneak'? I meant 'return in a completely normal and legal way'."

"Riku – "

"Hey, do you want to impress Axel or not?"

"I don't! You know I don't!" Sora threw up his hands.

"No." Riku shoved the leather garment into Sora's arms, smacking the back of his hand against Sora's chest and leaning in, staring the younger boy in the eyes. "What I know is that you are living off Chef Boyardee and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in this freezing apartment, and that the only way you're going to be able to afford the internet connection you're using to play Internet poker with some blond buff guy from Finland is if you either A) continue to steal some of your neighbor's Wi-Fi – and I promise you, he will notice – or B) write a damn novel so you can go back to sustaining yourself like a big boy. Get it together, Aoi." He flicked Sora's forehead and walked down the hall, his hair swishing behind him. Sora gripped the godforsaken pants in his shaking hands and groaned. Riku was a lot of things...but mostly, he was very persuasive, very aware of his physical attributes, and very, very right.

The benefits of having it all.

"Sky! You look..."

"Whatever you're about to say, Roxas... just don't say it. Just don't."

Roxas shook his head. "Fine then. Sky, you look like a fat-ass. I'll dial Jenny Craig for you, as I bet your fingers are too big for the keypad. Xion, call 911. We need someone to get him out of those pants before he cuts off all circulation to his non-existent – "

"Roxas!" She walked over to Sora and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "If you ask me, Sky, you look really cute... I'd have never known you had an ass if you didn't wear this." She grinned widely.

"Uh...thank you...?" Roxas approached Sora's side, a smile on his lips, seemingly genuine, even despite his previous comments.

"You know I was joking, right?" he asked. "As a general statement, I think you look alright. I mean, the girls here don't seem to mind." His eyes swept the crowd of students passing by them in the hallways. Sora's attention fell on a group gathered at some lockers down the hall, and his eyes widened. A small number of girls stood, congregated and giggling, their gazes blatantly focused on his attire. One, an unusually bubbly girl with long blonde locks, stared with intent, looking him up and down before waving at him. His face flushed crimson, and he proceeded to slam his head against the nearest locker.

BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

"Sky...? Are you feeling okay?"

"Ow..."

"Since Xion won't ask...uh...was there a point to any of that self-mutilation?"

Sora pressed his forehead against the cool locker. "I feel so stupid."

"But you look so hot!" said Riku from down the hall as he strutted close, a too-easy smirk on his face. Sora could feel his soul packing a suitcase and flying away, because why would it stay when Lucifer was fast approaching? Riku held onto Sora's shoulder tightly, nodding with approval as the boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "The form-fitting white dress shirt is adorable. And is this a little tie?" he asked, chuckling while pulling on it. "And I especially love these pants." He slid a hand down Sora's thigh, making the younger male jump. "Oh my God... is that real leather?"

"Riku... I hate you. So shut up." Sora jerked Riku's hand off of him.

"If you say so." He winked in that disgustingly snarky way that he would when he felt incredibly proud of himself. Sora saw no reason for his agent to feel so self-satisfied. Sure, he had won for the moment, but what about when Riku would follow him to lunch and ask for a couple of french fries? He'd give Riku two. And when Riku would start to get pissy because, hey, Sora's skimping on the faux-French goodness that is a fry, Sora would smile and think, "HA! A 'couple' implies TWO fries, you whale!"

Yeah.

That would show him.

The bastard.

The stares became no more bearable as the school day went on. While others might beg for the attention, he found himself rather fearful of it. Everything felt so concentrated on him, on his appearance, and it led his mind to wander to all sorts of raging thoughts:

"This was such a dumb idea."

"I'm going to strangle Riku."

"No, I won't. Too predictable. I'll ruffle his hair."

"Oh my God, my hair... It must look like shit."

"Did I shave this morning?"

"Crap... I look like crap... I feel like crap... I hope that's what Axel's attracted to."

"Like I give a flying wombat what Axel is into."

Smiles and friendly gazes did nothing to assuage his unhappiness. He was a baby fish, moved from the fishbowl to the Big Tank, where judgmental high school students watched with eyes ablaze and teeth at the ready; his weaknesses could only be magnified by the distortions of that Tank.

Oh, how the little angelfish feared the lingering piranha...

Lunch only reminded him how hungry those piranha were. If it were possible to shrink to a microscopic size and hide, he would have. If he could suddenly become a bit of pollen in the wind, he'd opt for that. And if only he could become a clown. Everyone despises clowns. That'd keep the strange looks of interest and infatuation away. Bring on the hatred!

He plopped himself down at his lunch table, and winced at the pain he felt as the top of his leather pants pressed deep into his stomach. Roxas, Riku, and Xion soon appeared, all well aware of Sora's apparent displeasure.

"If you don't like the pants," Roxas started as he made himself comfortable at the table, "then you shouldn't have worn them. That simple."

"Roxas has it right.," said Riku. "It's not like anyone forced you to wear them."

If looks could kill, then Sora's angry face might have given Riku a number of small bruises. A+ for effort, though.

Then Axel appeared. Or, rather, his shadow did, hovering above Sora's head, casting itself on top of him and laying claim to the table upon which it rested. Axel hesitated for a moment. Though Sora's back was facing the redhead, he could sense from the looks his friends were giving that Axel's eyes were roaming his interesting choice of clothing. The knowledge made the hairs on the back of his neck stand (or they would have, if they weren't being strangled by Riku's little demon tie). But the moment soon passed, and Axel situated himself in the empty space beside Sora.

"Nice...shirt." He practically laughed the words out. "Very becoming on you, Princess."

"Axel, I really don't – " Sora cringed as Riku's foot collided with his shin. He glanced at his silver-haired friend, who dipped his head and shot a look Axel's way. Be nice, it said. Be nice or I'll drown you in the sink. Sora sighed. "Thank you...Axel." His eyes returned to Riku, whose eyebrow was raised, like he were waiting for something else. Sora turned back to Axel...and smiled. When he saw his agent's face next, he seemed generally pleased.

Lunch conversation proceeded as usual. It appeared only to stall for a moment when some guy with dirty blonde hair arrived at the table, a stack of papers in his hands. "Hey, are you Sky Atari?" he asked, his green eyes set on Sora's sullen self. He hadn't spoken aloud in some time, and made no motion to suggest that he'd start then. Sora nodded an affirmative, and the newcomer smiled – it seemed so casual and easy, and Sora relaxed in his presence.

"Oh, nice! I'm Demyx." He reached out a hand for Sora to shake, but the pile of papers began to slip from his hold, and he managed to make an awkward save before they all fell to the floor. He smiles again, but it was clearly out of some degree of embarrassment. "Uh, so, Professor Xemnas sent me to give back these physics assessments we took yesterday. How fast he graded these is scary! Kinda like everything else about him... Uh, but anyway, here's yours, man." Demyx thumbed through the stack with speed before pulling out a single sheet and handing it over to Sora.

"Thanks, Demyx."

"No problem." Demyx nodded in acknowledgment of Axel's presence, tossed another paper to him and Xion, and ran off, clearly spurred to complete the task by fear. Sora inspected his paper. "Damn..." he muttered. Xion leaned over and peeked at the assessment.

"Wow... Epic fail."

"Did you catch whatever Roxas has? Because if that was you trying to make me feel better, then it was an EPIC FAIL."

"Sorry..." Sora dropped the sheet from his grasp and let it hit the table.

"This is stupid... When am I ever going to use physics in life? Honestly? It's so pointless." He couldn't explain just how true his statement was, but he had experience, and if physics had ever been useful to him, perhaps he would not be trying to defeat writer's block by posing as a teenage boy in high school.

"Well, if you ever decide to be a physicist..."

"Roxas..."

Roxas chuckled. "I'm shutting up, dude."

Axel viewed the quiz in question with half a glance. "Yikes. Looks like a disaster." Sora stopped mid-pout and quickly grabbed Axel's assessment.

"...This is a joke, right?" he asked in hushed awe, his eyes fixed on the bright red A on the stark white paper.

Axel smirked. "What? I can't be good at school stuff, Princess?" He lowered his head. "Or, you wouldn't expect me to be good at anything? Right?" Sora's mouth hung open as his mind worked double-time to concoct a response. He didn't want to admit the truth – that Axel being proficient at something as hard as physics was, to him, laughable – but he hated to think of lying. Oh, the irony of it all...

"Passed, I guess, Axel?" Riku asked, though it was obvious. Sora exhaled, happy that Riku had picked up on the tension in the air. He kept his eyes on the table. "Looks like Sky might benefit from a little help from you, eh?" He laughed at his own comment, sure, but Sora didn't need to look at Riku to know that he was hinting, trying to jump-start their little plan. Sora swallowed the lump that had slowly been growing in his throat. The thought of giving up what little self-respect he had left... Was this worth it? He looked at Riku.

Judging by the expectant countenance he encountered, it really didn't matter if it was worth it or not. He was doing this. Sora took a deep breath.

"Yeah... I could really use some help with this... Maybe..."

"Are you asking me, Sky?"

Sora coughed. "You...said my name...?" Axel had no response, and remained still as he awaited an answer. "I... I guess I am. Asking, that is." Sora could feel heat beginning to bloom under his skin, and it was spreading from deep within his chest to his limbs, fingertips, toes – the sensation was starting to fill him up. The process was hastened by the fact that Axel still made no effort to react to Sora's inquiry. He merely sat beside him, his green eyes unfocused and blurry beneath the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria. Sora nearly choked as he tried to force his voice to cooperate.

"I'd...really like the help, Axel. If you're not busy..." An awkward smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he stuttered along. "It might be...uh...fun... And I'd...really appreciate it."

"Meet me in the library tomorrow right after school."

"...Huh?" Axel hadn't even looked at him, and now he was standing from his seat, a tall, looming, dangerous ghost of a man.

"Don't be late. I have other stuff to do, and I can't miss 'em." The redhead was up and out of the lunchroom before Sora could even reply.

"I give that a low '2' on Riku's Scale of Seduction," the silver-haired agent whispered into Sora's ear. "But you're in there! Now, just ramp things up to a moderate '5' tomorrow afternoon, and we'll be well on our way." He began to turn away, but came back. "Oh, by the way, obviously, this new development necessitates that I come over after school today to prep you for tomorrow. We'll stop by 7-11 and buy us some burritos." He grinned.

Sora groaned. Being such a pushover was getting old faster than his grandmother... But Riku knows best... right?

...Right?

Is this game the perfect test?
Do we alter
What we are
Who we honor
Playing with people's hearts?