A/N: Another not so friendly chapter. But hey, it's high school. ._.
Roxas POV
The last week seemed to fly by. Already, it had been two weeks since I started going to school here. It was pretty exhausting, but it could be a lot worse. I mean, I have a great boyfriend and a couple decent friends already. Sora and I still weren't getting along very well, but he's just going to have to get over it. I wasn't even entirely sure why he was so interested in my love life anyway.
When Thursday finally came around, I was already ready to go back to the apartment and crash until Monday. I lay my head down on the table and closed my eyes. Maybe the teacher wouldn't mind if I slept through class…again. It was art. I could catch up later on my own. Seifer had taking it into habit of glaring at me from across the table on daily basis, usually making me too nervous to look down for more than a second. But today was one of those 'I couldn't care less' days because I was about to pass out on the table. It helped that Seifer seemed just as tired, and was already asleep.
"Roxas?" A small voice called, "you up?" I rolled my head off my arms and looked up to see Namine. I smiled, tiredly.
"Hey," I half yawned and she giggled. I looked at her and sat up, slightly confused. "What's funny?"
"Fun night, Roxas?" She asked, stifling another laugh, trying not to wake up Seifer. Now I was even more confused, but I was almost positive I knew what she was talking about. Axel and I had another 'date' the night before. He pretty much dragged me to his place after school and we watched half of a movie, and spent the other half…not watching it. Still, I didn't want to draw any attention to myself, just in case she was referring to something else.
"I mean, I guess." I mumbled, bringing my shoulder up nonchalantly to cover my neck. It didn't work. She pushed my shoulder down and poked the small bruise Axel had left.
"Who have you been with?" I could feel my face turn red and she broke out into a full out laugh this time. I yanked my light grey hoodie over my head and let my head fall back down.
"Stop, Namine! It's not funny," I whined. She pulled me back up.
"If I help you, will you at least tell me who it was?" She said, attempting to pull my hood off. I tugged back, even though it was childish.
"Help me and I'll think about it," I grumbled, winning our tug-of-war. I looked over at her and she smiled.
"Okay, get up. I'll cover that right up." She said, now tugging my arm. I slid up and Namine went to the teacher; making up yet another excuse for me. I rolled my eyes as she came back, dragging me out.
"I'm too good to you, Roxas," she teased as we left the room.
I had an eerie feeling that this would involve something I wouldn't enjoy. Apparently her cover up fell into that category. She assured me I was pale enough for in to blend perfectly with her light shade of makeup. Even though it did, I still didn't want to wear makeup. She asked a few more times as we walked back towards class. Luckily no one seemed to notice.
Feeling a bit more comfortable with the fact I was getting away with the small amount of make-up, I drowsily stumbled through the rest of the first half of the day; considering I didn't really sleep well last night and I didn't get a chance to sleep in art, like I had planned to. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything too important in my haze. And after what seemed like years, the lunch bell rang.
I eventually made it to the crowded cafeteria, looking around. I thought about heading towards the lunch line but today's lunch smelled terrible. I weighed my options and decided to skip lunch and try to find Axel instead. He said he'd try and swing by around now, so I was hoping I'd catch him at the right time. Nonchalantly, I snuck out of the cafeteria and walked over toward the track. After looking around for a while, I eventually found him leaning against the fence, hidden behind the bleachers. I wasn't surprised to find him smoking.
"Hey," I smiled, walking over to him. He looked up and quickly dropped his cigarette, stomping it into the ground.
"Roxas," He said, leaning back on the fence. "Don't you look smart today," He said, playfully. I punched him on the arm and he laughed.
"I look like I'm hungover; and I hardly slept, because you insisted I stay longer," I rolled my eyes. He snickered.
"I wasn't going to say it like that, but kind of, yeah." He laughed. "But, it's still cute." He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me lightly. I rested my head on his chest, until I heard footsteps nearby. I practically leapt out of Axel's arms and turned around to see Seifer walking away.
"Shit, did he see us?" I asked, panicked.
"I don't know…hopefully he didn't see anything," he frowned. I moved away and peaked around the corner, brushing Axel off as he reached to pull me back. Maybe I was being paranoid, and he hadn't seen anything. But I was almost positive that I was lying to myself. I didn't have much time to think it over because not even seconds later, the bell rang. Which meant it was time to go to geometry, my worst class. I sighed and kissed Axel's cheek lightly.
"I gotta go," I mumbled, walking away quickly. I was almost sprinting but the time I reached the building, my heart and mind racing. What if Seifer had seen something? I stopped outside my class room, trying to breath. I didn't want to seem anxious. I managed to calm myself down by the time I got to my seat. What was the worst Seifer could do? He had no proof. No one would believe him.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Geometry was, as always, painfully boring, and I didn't understand what the teacher was blabbering on about. I tried to stay focused on the lesson, and even take a few notes for later, but eventually I gave up. Deciding now would be as good a time as any, I put my head down and fell asleep after a few minutes. I ended up not waking up until the bell rang.
I sat up, still tired and pushed my books sloppily in my back pack. I looked around and collected the worksheets that were shoved around my desk, untouched, and put them in too before zipping it up. 'I really need to stop sleeping in class,' I thought, knowing that this would definitely affect my grade. I shrugged it off though. I could probably get some help from Demyx's roommate.
On my way to gym, Sora stopped me in the hallway; which was weird, considering I didn't usually see him much during school.
"Uhh…hey, what's up?" I asked. As he got closer I noticed something in his expression. He looked pissed.
"You fucking know what's up!" he snarled angrily. I almost smirked, because I was right about him being angry, but I felt it was smarter not too.
"Woah, chill out, what's wrong?" I stepped back, wondering what the hell was going on.
"Seifer told me what you two were doing! Shit, Roxas. Don't be such a whore!" He yelled; his fists clenched at his sides.
"W-what? But…but, it was just a little kiss…" I tried to explain, holding my hands instinctively in front of my face, ready to block any hits.
"…It was?" He asked, looking shocked. As he calmed down I felt it was safe for me to stand up straight.
"Yeah…What the hell did Seifer tell you?" I asked, now getting angry myself. What the hell was Seifer trying to do?
"He said that you two were like…doing things…" He explained; suddenly very fascinated by his shoes. I paused for a moment think about what he said, until I realized what he meant.
"…We weren't doing anything like that!" I assured him, trying not to sound too frustrated with him. Before he could say another word, I left to go find Seifer. I was so pissed off, I wasn't even thinking straight.
"Where are you going?" Sora yelled after me, sounding somewhat worried now. I didn't bother answering; I just stomped down the hallway, ready to deal with Seifer. In retrospect, however, that probably wasn't a good idea.
When I did find Seifer, he seemed quite amused with the little conflict he had started; chatting lightly with another girl. Her name was Fuu, I think. She looked at me with a blank expression. Thankfully, it seemed he hadn't spread his lies further. I walked over.
"Seifer!" I snapped, and he didn't turn around. The girl glared at me for interrupting their conversation, but stormed off as Seifer whipped around.
"What the hell do you want?" He snapped, and I shrank back a bit. I cleared my throat and stood up straight, trying to look a bit more confident. Even standing as straight as I could he was still at least a foot taller than me. "Are you going to say anything?"
"Why the hell did you lie to my brother about…" I didn't finish the sentence but I didn't need too. He knew exactly what I was referring to.
"Because I can?" He folded his arms across his chest, looking at me waiting for my response. I wanted to hit him, but part of me knew that was exactly what he wanted me to do. I let my clenched fists drop by my sides.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that you're a complete asshole. Although, I'm pretty sure a tool like you is already aware of that." I snarled, amazing myself and him with this slight burst of confidence. Seifer's just continued to glare, but I was still a bit cocky from my comeback, so I didn't flinch.
"Whatever," Seifer said and I turned to leave, slightly more satisfied, until he opened his mouth again. "Fag."
I spun around on my heel and smashed my fist into his jaw, without a second thought. I pulled my fist back, biting my lip at the slight pain in my hand after hitting him. Seifer, who had only stumbled for a second at most, was regaining his composure and his anger. The next punch was from him. His fist collided with my nose and I could feel warm blood begin to spill out. My hands shot to my face as I desperately tried to keep it from getting everywhere. Seifer moved closer and hit my stomach, causing me to double over. Before I could even think about regaining my balance, I felt him pick me up by the back of my hoodie and slam me into the wall. I struggled frantically to get away as he smashed his fist into the side of my jaw. I managed to dodge a few of the hits and he'd smash into the brick, allowing me to squirm out of his grip. Still, even after I hit the ground, the hits kept coming.
"Hey!" I heard someone yell, and I rolled on my side as Seifer finally let up on his kicking. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Get lost, Demyx!" I heard Seifer snap, and I pushed myself up. My nose was still bleeding and my whole body ached, but I managed to sit up.
"Um…some help would be nice," I groaned to Demyx, who dropped down next to me, looking worried. Seifer quickly stomped over toward us; swinging at Demyx. He ducked out of the way surprisingly fast, and grabbed my bruised arm.
"Going somewhere, Fag?" Seifer taunted, raising his fist again. Demyx quickly kicked his legs out from underneath him and dragged me away while Seifer was still getting up. We managed to get to Demyx's car before Seifer caught up with us, and we peeled out of the parking lot.
"Shit, Roxas, are you okay?" He asked, panicked. I tried to respond, but all I could do was cough up a little blood.
"That kid has some serious anger issues," I finally managed to say, but the words came out more strained then I had planned. Still, I was surprised I didn't really hurt too much. I guess the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet. I think Demyx was talking to himself about something, but I didn't catch what he was saying. Before I knew what was going on, he dragged me out of the car and into his apartment.
"Zex?" he called out, "Zexy?" Demyx kept yelling for Zexion as he pretty much carried me to the couch and pulled out his phone. I laid on the couch helplessly as Demyx freaked out. Everything hurt and I couldn't get the coppery taste of blood out of my mouth. 'I'm so pathetic…I couldn't even defend myself…against Seifer, of all people.' I thought, frowning.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Axel POV
Setting up the equipment wasn't the highlight of my day. It was already bored out of my mind and it had only been like five minutes. Why I had taken this job was a mystery. In the end it was probably a tie between the small amount money the coach gave me out of pity for doing the work and being able to put it down on my college application. Just as I finished setting up, my phone vibrated. I took it out of my pocket and answered.
"Hey Dem, what's up?" I asked, slightly apprehensive. Demyx rarely called unless it was important…to him anyway; he usually just texted.
"Uhh…can you come over?" He asked nervously. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my watch. School didn't end for another twenty minutes and practice was another thirty after that; which made me wonder why the hell Demyx wasn't still in school right now. Apparently I didn't answer soon enough. "Like now?" He added franticly.
"Fine, but if this is just because you and Zexion are having a fight or something, then I'm going to kill you for wasting my time," I sighed, about to hang up, but Demyx began to speak again.
"Oh, can you see if he's still at the school?" Demyx asked anxiously. "I kind of forgot to tell him I took the car when I left."
"You two aren't together?" I asked as I began walking back towards the building.
There was some ruslting on the other end and I heard Demyx yelling at someone in the background. "Hey, keep your head back like I told you! Zexion will kill me if you make a mess." After more rustling, he was back to finish our conversation.
"Right, well, I was in a rush. Give him a ride, please." And he hung up. I looked at my phone angrily and shut it, stuffing it back in my pocket.
"This better be good, Demyx" I mumbled to myself, walking towards the building to go find Zexion.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Zexion was as annoyed as I was as I yanked him away from the papers he was grading for Vexen, the science teacher he worked with. As we walked he began to rant about how Demyx needed to grow up and take care of himself sometimes; something he complained about on a regular basis. After a few minutes I just began to tune him out, turning on the radio the second we closed the car doors and began to drive.
"What could he possibly need both of us for?" Zexion snapped again, as we got closer to the building.
"You know you'd hate if he stopped asking for you help." I teased, turning off the car and walking into the building, Zexion trailing behind me.
"Well, just not all the time," Zexion mumbled. He knew it was true, so he let the conversation drop. I rolled my eyes and knocked on their apartment door. I heard some stomping and Demyx whipped open the door, looking scared. I was wondering if he was more scared of the glares he was receiving from both me and his boyfriend, or the fact there was some blood on his shirt.
"Hey…is that them?" I heard Roxas call from inside, sounding a bit dazed. Demyx's eyes darted back towards where I assumed he was sitting and bit his lip.
"Please don't kill me," he cringed, before opening the door all the way, letting the two of us walk in. I looked around to the kitchen to see Roxas sitting at the kitchen table, blood stained under his nose and a cut above his eye. There were various bruises on his arms and one or two on his face. I pushed past Demyx and Zexion and over to Roxas as the two stood in the door and began to argue.
"What the hell happened?" I demanded. Roxas looked up at me and smiled weakly.
"Seifer's a dumb bitch, man," Roxas slurred, still sounding totally out of it. I looked back at Demyx.
"What the hell did you do to him?" I snapped.
"I just cleaned up the blood and gave him some ice…" He trailed off.
"Then why does he sound like he's drunk?" I asked, sounding less annoyed then I really was. Zexion looked at him, just as curious for this answer as I was.
"Well uh…" he started, scratching his head, "he was practically crying in pain and I couldn't find the pain medicine so…"
"So?" Zexion asked, trying to get him to finish his point.
"I kind of just gave him some cough syrup…I figured, you know…maybe he'd sleep off the pain," Demyx explained sheepishly, ending his sentence very quietly.
"You gave him cough syrup?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose. Demyx only shrugged, still looking at his feet. At least he tried, I suppose. Looking over at Roxas, I noticed he was half laying on the table and starting to slide off of his chair. I frowned, picking him up carefully. He winced lightly; burying his face in my shoulder. "Did you give him the whole damn bottle?" I asked, trying not to sound as angry as I was.
"No, it was almost half empty so I just gave him the rest." He explained defensively.
"Right. Well, next time, try not to OD my boyfriend. Okay?"
"Give him a break, Axel," Zexion interjected, finally stepping in to the conversation. Demyx perked up a bit. "Granted, it was a stupid idea," he finished, making sure Demyx knew that it was.
"It's alright now, don't worry," I whispered, carrying him to the couch. He mumbled something, but I didn't quite understand what he said. I laid him down gently and put a blanket over him. "Do you need anything?"
"Uhh…I th-think I'm okay…k-kinda," he slurred, still dazed.
"I think you need to get some rest…" I muttered, gently kissing his forehead.
"D-don't go yet," he whimpered, clinging to my shirt.
"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," I insisted, cradling him in my arms. He nuzzled into my neck, humming contentedly. I held him close until he managed to fall asleep. After carefully laying him back on the couch, I kissed him lightly. I walked over to Demyx and Zexion who had moved to the kitchen to continue talking.
"So…what exactly happened here?" I asked quietly, still shaking slightly with anger. Demyx explained what he'd seen happen, and what Roxas told him before I got here. I knew Seifer was an ass, but he went way too far.
"That fucking bastard!" I spat, turning to leave.
"Dude, calm down…" Demyx mumbled quietly. Zexion sighed, knowing that was a stupid thing to request.
"I will not calm down! He hurt Roxas!"
"Don't do anything stupid," Zexion tried, but he knew I wasn't going to listen. I practically ran out of the building; I was fucking livid. I kept walking down the street for what seemed like hours, still seething. Still, I knew, Zexion would make sure Roxas was taken care of, so at least I didn't have to worry about that for now.
I was starting to wonder if I'd ever find the little shit. This would be so much easier if I could get to him on campus, but I wasn't about to lose my job over him. After another block, I glanced over and saw him walking on the other side of the street. Gritting my teeth, I crossed the street and followed him at a distance for a while. After we got to a more secluded part of the city, I caught up with him.
"Seifer," I snarled, stepping towards him.
"The fuck do you want?" He spat, turning around to face me.
"Leave Roxas alone," I demanded.
"Awh, is someone mad their little boyfriend got his ass kicked?" He cooed antagonistically.
"Last chance; back the fuck off," I growled; I was seeing red at this point.
"What're you gonna do about it?" He snapped, getting in my face.
I lost it; I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the brick wall. I smashed my fist into his nose as hard as I could, hoping to break it. That little shit deserved everything he did to Roxas tenfold. In between punches, he head butted me and I stumbled back briefly. Still clutching his bloody nose, he swung at my face, but I ducked out of the way. Before I could regain my balance, he tackled me down. He managed to punch me once before I kicked him off. He quickly threw another punch at me, but I caught his fist and twisted his arm behind his back.
"Leave. Roxas. Alone," I snarled, tightening my grip on his arm.
He winced in pain, and muttered, "Fuck you."
I growled and slammed him face first into the wall again, still keeping my grip on his arm. He kicked off the wall and we both fell backward, landing on the sidewalk. Seifer was taking longer to get up this time, he's probably getting tired. I grabbed a fistful of his hair, dragging him up. He smashed his fist into my jaw, and I kicked his knee out from under him mercilessly. Still absolutely livid, I flung him onto the ground. He sat up, clutching his knee in agony.
"Listen, you little bitch, if I ever find out that you've been bothering Roxas in any way, you'll be breathing through a fucking tube when I'm finished with you," I snarled, kicking him brutally. I only stopped when he sputtered, "Okay, okay," as he coughed up some blood. I smirked deviously and started walking back to the apartment to check on Roxas. I had a feeling this was going to come back to haunt me, but at this moment, I couldn't care less.
A/N: We hope you liked the chapter. And as always, we adore reviews :)
