AN: Hello again! Just wondering: do you guys think I'm a girl or guy writer? I'll give whoever guesses right a… cookie? That reminds me! Two reviewers guessed right about Axel's girlfriend, and I'm not sure who won because you both said exactly the same thing at the same time and neither of you just picked ONE girl, so… I'll give both of you a one-shot! Who won? Drum roll, please! Tenshi Yami- Angel of Darkness and Takura Yume both get one-shots! I'll message you both, and you can each give me a prompt. Make it as hot as you can while you can!
^I made that AN a month ago. I'm so sorry ;A; I've been so busy, and that's no excuse, but I'll make this one extra-long in apology. So yep! By the way, my English class just finished The Great Gatsby, and I am inspired, finally. Enjoy.
Warning: Sexual themes, angsty teenage drama, drug/alcohol abuse, and maybe more. Rated M.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own.
X
The process in which we had to find Roxas an attorney, go through court dates, and relive his gruesome was a long and dreadful one. The lawyer they had chosen, a stoic young man who had never lost any of the few cases he had been dealt, was a man by the name of Luxord. The gentleman had clean-cut features, those of which being a hard jaw rimmed with flaxen facial hair, the same color as the wispy locks on his head. The man was in his early thirties, and although being new to the courtroom setting, he was known as a hard-iron fist which his opposers feared would crush them mercilessly in the courtroom. They'd met with Luxord numerous times over the last month, trying to settle what had happened, when they'd go to court, and who should be subpoenaed as witnesses. I was to be called to the stand, even though I hardly knew anything.
Roxas had hardly noted anything Luxord said, barely ever communicating with the man in these brief meetings. His head was in the clouds as of late, and I duly realized he wouldn't be the same boy I knew for a long while to come.
"Roxas, we're going to trial tomorrow," Luxord announced once he sat in the swivel chair on the opposite side of the table from us. Roxas was currently fidgeting with the hem of his polyester shirt. I nudged him softly, and his eyes awoke to read Luxord's face.
His cracked lips opened and he audibly swallowed, "Alright. That sounds fine to me. Should I do anything, or do I just show up?" I sighed to myself, partly in frustration and partly in sadness. It was obvious Rox hadn't been listening to Luxord at all during these meetings.
Luxord's face scrunched up in annoyance, a scowl played tightly on his face. "I see you've forgotten. That's ok—I'll remind you." He licked his lips before continuing. "All you need to do is show up. Do not lie, do not under-exaggerate, just tell the whole truth. After your turn is over, others will be called to the stand. They may lie, they may corroborate you as someone you are not," he leaned forward, and intense stare locked on my best friend, "but you are not, under no circumstances, allowed to say anything aloud to the jury during their testimony. Do you understand?" Roxas took all of this in for a presumed second time and solemnly nodded his head in confirmation.
As we walked out of the dimly lit office building, Roxas sat on the stone steps, his head angled toward the sky. As hopeful as I could tell he wanted to be, depression was etched onto his boyish features. I'd often wondered, as I noticed this, if he could see the love and worry marring my own aged face.
He laughed grimly, and I was awakened from my stupor with a fright.
"You know what, Sora?" I swallowed, suddenly noticing the dryness in my throat.
"What, Roxas?" I claimed a seat beside him, close enough for comfort but farther away than I'd wanted. He looked to me with a sad face, although not the dead state of sadness I'd grown accustomed to. This sadness was laced with light despair, the solemn kind of sadness you get when you see someone's dog missing on the light-pole outside your house, the kind everyone notices but says nothing about for they do not head its normalcy. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach, for the Roxas I knew never had this look placed upon his face.
"Last week was my eighteenth birthday."
X
The court date was today, and as apprehensive as I was, Roxas was the complete opposite. He had a small smile, a rarity as of late, and suddenly the world seemed much brighter in comparison to the beginning of this month. When I asked why he was so happy, he only gripped my shoulder with a firm palm and said, "Today I get justice."
The room was far different than any Law and Order setup I had ever seen. There was no dramatics, just a lightly decorated, pale room with a jury booth and seat for a judge. There was a small table for Roxas and Luxord to sit at. Unfortunately, I had to sit in the row behind Roxas; I wasn't part of this case (excluding my role as witness), therefore I could not sit next to him in front of the "peers" that were there to judge his trial.
"All rise for the honorable judge Xemnas." We rose as a frighteningly tall, tan man entered the room. He was wearing the traditional black judge's robe, his long, white hair tied behind him in a low ponytail.
He boomed over the courtroom in a dark, silky voice, "You may be seated." Fear quickly wracked my body. I had come to the conclusion that this was real, and the finality hit me like a ton of bricks to the face. I let out a breath I'd not realized I'd been holding and looked to my love. Roxas still seemed unfazed in the slightest, and that scared me even more. I just hoped he wouldn't choke on stand, gasping on events that plagued him for nearly a month.
"All right counselors," the judge announced slowly, "you may present your opening statements. Luxord," Xemnas led the man in.
Luxord was slow to stand, making a dramatic entry. He gave the jury a once-over, pacing in front of their seats.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," he began, "this case is one of the most obvious I have ever dealt with, and hopefully you see it the same way. This boy," an index finger pointed to Roxas, "was assaulted and raped after a first and last date was offered by the accused. This man belittled him, pinned him to the wall, and stole his innocence." Luxord stopped his argument there and sat down next to Roxas while the jury shakily took in the case before them.
Axel's lawyer, a salt-and-pepper-haired, middle-aged man stood and lazily walked to the jury.
"Ladies, gentlemen, we know how this goes. You've all seen it before, and this won't be the last time, either. A couple engage in sex and little red cries wolf so his parents won't look down upon him. The defendant never did anything the "victim" didn't want, and we have witnesses and evidence to prove this." He sat, and I pondered about what "evidence" they could possibly have.
Soon after, Roxas was called to the stand. His hand was placed on the Bible as he solemnly swore to tell the whole truth and nothing but. As he sat down Xemnas gave him a wary glance, unsure if this young boy was ready for the hardships of this trial. Axel's lawyer was the first to question him, and meanwhile I was biting my nails to fine stubs in anxiousness.
"So, Roxas, how did you meet Axel?" Roxas swallowed and glanced toward the aforementioned redhead before answering.
"We worked together for months."
"And during those months, did either of you communicate outside of work?"
He thought for a moment, "No, I don't believe so. It was about a month before the incident when I asked for his number so we could hang out."
The lawyer paused in pseudo-thought before cocking his head to Roxas. "So, you sought him out. Did you willingly go into this for sex?"
"Objection, your honor!" Luxord stood. "He's leading him."
"Sustained," Xemnas retorted. "Continue, Xigbar."
"Alright, so you liked him then?"
Roxas fidgeted and eyed the jury. He didn't know how his answer would affect him, and neither did I. "I did, but I wasn't going to pursue him. I just wanted to talk."
"But when he asked you out, what did you want to happen then?"
"Well, I just wanted a date—a dinner and a movie—and I thought that's what we were doing."
Xigbar, as the man was called, pursed his lips and gave Roxas a cold stare. This man had me anxious; he seemed like one hell of a good lawyer, despite his ungodly appearance.
"Axel had asked you that night if you wanted to go to his place and have some fun. You said yes, didn't you?" Before Roxas could answer he continued, "He implied sex and you willingly went into his home, knowing what would happen correct?"
"I didn't know—" he began, near tears. Xigbar interrupted once more.
"Didn't know? I have text messages from you to my client talking about sex repeatedly. Did you not know of your innuendos then, or what? You were leading my client on weren't you?" He handed the transcripts to Xemnas who glanced at them before setting them down on his bench.
"I was just messing around," Roxas mumbled.
"Obviously," Xigbar scoffed, "and you planned on messing around all that night, too." He walked away, moving to sit. "Your witness," he called to Luxord.
Roxas shakily inhaled, the water sticking to his eyelashes from tearing up. Luxord gave him an apologetic look, signaling he was sorry for the attack.
"Roxas," he drawled, "you liked the accused before all this mess, correct?"
"Yes," he stammered.
"That is perfectly natural. You two had worked together for almost a year, correct?"
"That's correct."
"And those messages from earlier—weren't they all blatantly obvious jokes that were first initiated by the defendant?"
"Yes, sir." Roxas was slowly gaining his courage back, and my heart warmed for him. He was doing so well, and I couldn't wait to hug him after this.
"Tell me what happened that night," Luxord demanded. Roxas took a deep breath, looked to Axel, then the jury.
"We had just seen a movie. Axel wanted to know if I'd like to do something fun at his place. I just thought he meant play video games or something. I had no idea he was being sexual." Axel furrowed his brow, the first sign of emotion I'd seen from him while being here.
"We walked in and he immediately tackled me against the door, kissing me and pulling at my clothes. I…" He stopped to fidget with his shirt; he was nervous, and all of those locked memories came flooding back.
"I asked him nicely to stop at first. Then we moved to the floor where he removed all my clothes, and I kept telling him to stop. He touched me all over and said I liked it, even though I told him I wasn't. He… He touched my…" Embarrassed, he stopped.
"Your genitals?" Luxord provided.
"Yes. Then he stuck it in me, and he kept going while I was screaming and crying. I just kept asking him to stop, and it almost was like he never heard me. He kept saying I was screaming because I wanted it, but I really didn't."
Luxord took all of this in for a second time and turned to the jury before circling around to Roxas.
"Tell us what happened next, Roxas."
"I ran out as soon as I could pull my clothes on and just kept running until I thought I was far enough away from him. I called Sora, my best friend, to pick me up before passing out in pain on the sidewalk."
Luxord waltzed over to his bench before retrieving a small box, presumably Roxas's rape kit, and handed the evidence to Xemnas.
"Roxas didn't shower that night or the next morning, and a rape kit was taken. This shows that there was trauma to his genitals and rectum along with the accused's DNA."
"Thank you, Luxord," Xemnas mumbled deeply.
He cleared his throat before sighing loudly. "Luxord, are you done with this witness?" The man nodded and sat as Xemnas pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.
"All right, this trial will resume in 2 days on the 10th at eleven AM sharp. You are dismissed," he hit his gavel and everyone stood to leave.
Roxas walked towards me and I met him halfway in a giant embrace.
"Oh, Rox, you did so well! I'm so proud of you for doing this. The worst part is over, I promise." I smiled at him earnestly and I was met with a sheepish grin from him.
"Thanks, Sor, I couldn't have done this without you." I looped my arm around his shoulder as we walked out. In the distance, unseen by my eyes, were venomous green eyes targeting our every move.
X
AN: I hope you guys liked this! At 2.5K words, you'd better have XD
Review and I'll love you forever :D