Day 10
Elsa looked down at her laptop screen. It was already ten minutes into the lecture, but she had not typed a single thing in yet. She glanced up at the powerpoint projected on the white screen but didn't really read the words. The professor was rattling off information, probably important stuff too, but it was going in one ear and out the other. She just couldn't concentrate. Chewing on her pencil, she eyed the empty seat beside her.
Axel wasn't in class today.
One would think that in his absence, she would be better able to focus on taking notes during the lecturer's presentation. But it seemed that Axel was a distraction even when he wasn't around, possibly even more so. Go figure.
He hadn't said anything yesterday to indicate he wasn't going to be there. It was weird for him to just not show up. Had something happened? Had he gotten into an accident? Smashed his bike into something? Was he hurt?
Where was he?
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, making her jump. Normally, she would have ignored it and checked it at the end of the lecture. However, since she was hardly paying attention anyway, she dug it out and discovered she had received a text message… from Axel!
Sorry, couldn't make it 2 class 2day. Sick. Some 24hr bug going round the 13. Won't b able 2 study the library l8r either.
So that was it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously, it wasn't good that he was under the weather, but it was better than him being involved in a crash of some sort. Feeling foolish for having let herself worry, she was now ready to give the class her full focus after sending him a quick reply. She had only tapped in a few letters however when her phone buzzed again with another message from him.
Luckily, I've prepared 4 such circumstances. Look under ur chair ;)
She quirked an eyebrow at her phone, then furtively glanced up. The teacher's back was to the classroom at the moment as she wrote something on the board. Hesitating for a few heartbeats, Elsa finally bent forward and felt her hand around underneath her chair, ignoring the strange looks a couple students nearby gave her. It took a few seconds, but eventually she felt it - something was taped to the underside of her seat. She pried it loose and sat up straight once more, staring down at what she now held in her hands.
It was a little, folded up piece of paper.
One guess as to what was written inside.
The Thirteen had a ginormous fraternity house. Towering over its neighboring buildings, it had to be three stories at least. It bore a huge black and white banner down the front, proudly displaying its Greek letters. Its walls were made up of stark white bricks and it was ancient looking. In fact, it almost looked like a miniature castle.
Woah, was that a tower in back?
Yup, pretty sure it was.
The structure gave off an almost ominous vibe as Elsa stared up at it from the sidewalk. She was seriously reconsidering her decision to come here at the moment.
After her final class of the day, with her library study session having been canceled, she had simply driven home. Once in her bedroom, she had dumped her class materials out of her bag and onto her desk, then had gone to her computer with the full intention of doing some online research for the essay she had due in a couple weeks. However, she had instead found herself looking up the location of the Thirteen. A brief internet search and she had the address. Then half an hour of preparation later, she was in her car and on her way to the frat house.
Squashing the major heebie-jeebies vibe she was getting now that she was standing in front of the place, she steeled herself, squared her shoulders, and marched down the path leading to the entrance. She walked up the small set of stairs, stopped in front of the grand double doors and firmly pressed the doorbell.
A minute passed where nothing happened. Surely, someone was home. The place was gigantic, it was probably just taking a bit of time for one of the occupants to get through all of it to reach her. Elsa rubbed her elbow as she waited. Finally, just as she was about to ring it again, she heard the the click of a lock and the left door creaked opened.
The person who greeted her was most certainly not Axel.
He might have been as tall as Axel, but that's about where any sort of similarities ended. He had striking blue eyes and pale blonde hair fashioned short into a Caesar cut. A well-trimmed goatee lined his face. Several silver piercings adorned both his ears, including rings going up the outer rims and a long earring dangling from one lobe.
He seemed to be about to say something as he stepped out and, from the annoyed look on his face, Elsa got the feeling it would have been anything but nice. But he froze upon seeing her, the words dying in his throat as he eyed her up and down. After a moment, he gave her a slow, appreciative nod before crossing his arms and leaning a shoulder against the doorframe. He twisted his head to the side and, with a distinct English accent, called over his shoulder back into the house, "Someone's mail-order bride is here."
Somewhere further in, a faint melody could be heard as someone played a guitar. Or rather, had been playing. At this guy's yell, the music came to an abrupt stop with a twang.
"Uh… excuse me?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow. "I am most certainly not-"
"Oh, so you're not already spoken for then, love?" the man asked, flashing her his set of blinding pearly whites. "In that case," with a flick of the wrist, he produced a deck of cards - from where, she didn't have the foggiest - and began shuffling them one-handed, "could you be persuaded to participate in a friendly game of strip poker?"
Was this guy for real? Her eyes shifted from him to the set of cards, then she shook her head rapidly and waved her hands back and forth. "Ah, no thanks, that's quite-"
"No need to be shy, dear. I'll even give you a handicap. Here." Another sleight of hand and the deck vanished once more.
Then he took off his shirt.
He made it a smooth, casual action, as if it were normal and just plain proper etiquette to remove your shirt in front of a stranger at your doorstep, putting your well-defined, muscly chest on display. "That better?" he asked. "Quite a head start I'm giving you, hm?"
Then his pecs started dancing. Elsa just about lost it.
"Tempted now?" He gave her a toothy smirk.
Nope. Not even a little bit.
"A-actually, I'm here to see-"
"What the fuck are you doing, you crumpet-stuffing weirdo?!" a new voice interjected into the conversation. Because apparently Elsa was doomed to not get a word in edgewise.
The voice belonged to a new guy that appeared in the doorway as he gave the Shirtless Wonder a shove. His spiky, dirty blond hair looked like the forbidden love child of a mullet and mohawk. A few stray bangs fell casually into his cyan eyes. He was maybe an inch shorter than the first man and looked leaner. He had a guitar strapped to his back. One could make the educated guess that he was the source of the musical strumming a moment before.
"Language, mate. There's a lady present," the one with a goatee admonished silkily.
"What la-" the other began, then cut himself off when he turned his head and his eyes fell on Elsa. He blinked a couple times, then his lips spread into a cheshire grin. "Well, hello," he purred, stretching out the o-sound. To his housemate, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "Dibs."
He rolled his eyes. "Have some class. She's a human being, not an object. Besides," he rammed his shoulder into Mullet Boy's side and muttered, "I saw her first."
"Then you should have called dibs faster," he hissed, elbowing the other guy in the stomach. Then beaming at Elsa once more, he swung his guitar around to hang in front of him, poised his hands over the strings and leaned in towards her. "So, babycakes, have you ever been with the lead guitarist of a rock band?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
What… was even happening?
"Uh…" was all that came out of her mouth as she took a step back. There were simply no words.
"Speechless, huh?" The musician looked smug as he bent back towards the other guy and murmured behind his hand, "It's the guitar. Chicks totally dig a man with an instrument." His face suddenly turned blank as he stared at his housemate for a second, then he looked away as his lip curled in disgust. "Dude, would you stop?"
"Stop what?" he asked as he looked down at his own chest. His pectorals were still doing the cha-cha with a gusto. "Oh," he chuckled unabashedly. The muscles stilled and he smoothed a hand through his hair. "Forgot."
"Sure. Whatever, man. Now, excuse us," he began, pushing the other guy behind him and taking his guitar in hand once more, "while I serenade Gorgeous here with a love ballad that I composed myself."
He'd only manage to pluck a single string before his friend (if he could be called that) scoffed, "She doesn't want to hear your dismal strumming or your pathetic mewlings."
With a twitch and a scowl, he grumbled, "Oh yeah? Well, she doesn't want to see your ugly buttface either, so get lost!"
Buttface? Really? Wow. College men. So mature.
Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he sighed. "Give it up, mate. You don't stand a chance."
"Pft. I have a better chance than you do."
A cocky half-grin twisted his lips. "Care to put a wager on that?"
"Oh, it's on!" He turned his eyes back on Elsa. "Who are you more likely to hook up with, me or the froo-froo Brit here?" he asked, jerking a thumb towards the man standing beside him.
"Er… n-neither?" she stammered. Or tried to. Her answer was lost as said 'froo-froo Brit' grabbed the guitarist by his still extended thumb and used it to twist his arm around behind him. A surprised yelp of pain escaped him and he started to flail about in a poor attempt to escape.
"Say uncle, you little prat," the one with the goatee commanded calmly as he inspected the fingernails on his free hand.
"Never!" he snarled. "As soon as I break free, I'm gonna kick your sorry-"
"Elsa?"
She jumped at the sound of her name. It had come from yet another person who had decided to join in on the commotion. He was standing behind the first two boys and was short enough to be blocked by them. However, she recognized the spikes of blonde hair peeking out from just beyond their shoulders. What was his name...?
"Roxas?" she ventured.
He bust through between the two men, effectively separating them as he snapped, "Break it up, you guys! What are you trying to do, scare her off?" He scooped the discarded shirt up off the ground and tossed it at its owner. "You! Put your top back on!"
"Hmph. Someone's awfully bossy for a pledge," the tallest one huffed as he slipped his shirt over his head.
The musician laughed and grabbed Roxas in a headlock to give him a noogie. "Yeah. You're lucky we're so fond of you, shortie."
Relief flooded Elsa upon seeing her classmate. Never underestimate the amount of comfort that can be found just by encountering a familiar face. It didn't matter that they had never spoken to each other before. He and Axel seemed to be close friends, which was good enough for her. Besides, he had to be better than these two knuckleheads. At least he was sane.
Or rather, in theory he was. The little french maid outfit he was currently wearing might beg to differ however.
"Get off me," Roxas demanded, breaking free of the stranglehold and giving his housemate a shove. Scratching the back of his head, he faced her once more, then froze at the strange look she was giving him. "What?"
"...what are you wearing?"
His face went beet red. He cleared his throat and self-consciously tugged down on the hem of his very short skirt. "Hazing," he mumbled by way of explanation. She just blinked in response.
Frats were weird.
Clearly eager to change the subject, he asked, "So what are you doing here? Looking for Axel?"
She nodded and began to reply, but the one with the goatee spoke up first. "Hold up. Both you and Axel know this girl?"
"Way to hold out on us," the other one said, punching Roxas in the shoulder.
Wincing and rubbing the fresh sore spot, he said, "She's in a class with us. She and Axel study together a lot."
Realization dawned on the Englishman's face. "Ah-ha. So you're the bird that's got my little bro's knickers all in a twist."
Little bro? Was he talking about Axel? What was… Oh wait, she recalled Axel saying something about this. Little brothers and big brothers were frat terms. Guess that made this guy Axel's big brother. What was the word he had used to describe him again…?
She snapped her fingers as it came to her. "You're the wank."
A beat. Then she clasped her hands over her mouth. First chance she had gotten in the past few minutes to complete a full thought out loud and that's what comes out?
However, he didn't seem offended as he roared with laughter. "Is that what Axel calls me behind my back? Don't worry about it, love, I've been called worse. Still, sounds like I'm going to have to have a chat with my little brother." He cracked his knuckles, then added as an afterthought, "By the way, in polite company, I'm called Luxord."
"And I'm Demyx," Mullet Boy piped up.
"Ah… pleasure to make your acquaintances?" It came out sounding like a question, as if she wasn't quite certain about that statement yet. "So… about Axel…"
"He's up in his room," Roxas said. "I think he's sleeping at the moment. Been sick as a dog all day. Didn't go to any of his classes."
"That's why I'm here. I brought notes from today's lecture that he missed, and the new assignment we got." Now that she thought about it, maybe it was a bit silly for her to come here. Roxas was taking the same class after all, so Axel could have just gotten the classwork from him. Feeling the need to further explain herself, she added hastily, "Plus, I brought some stuff for his cold."
"Well, aren't you just a sweet little angel?" Luxord cooed.
Demyx interlaced his fingers behind his head. "Yeah. Why you wasting your time with a loser like Axel?"
Ignoring their comments with a roll of his eyes, Roxas told her, "Axel should really just be staying in bed right now, the way he's feeling."
"That's fine, can't I just go to his room?"
Roxas closed his eyes and shook his head. "Sorry. Can't."
"See this line?" Demyx pointed at the door threshold beneath their feet. "No non-members passed this point."
Elsa frowned. "Why not?"
Demyx shrugged. "Dunno. New policy this year from the Superiors." He said the word mockingly, making it clear that it was anything but a term of respect. "Which really blows. I can't bring all my groupies back here after a gig anymore."
"What groupies?" Roxas deadpanned, earning him a smack in the back of the head from the guitarist.
"Oh. Alright," Elsa said, the disappointment in her own voice surprising her. What did she have to be disappointed about? She would see him next time in class. She began to open up her bag. "I guess... could you just give him a few things for me then?"
"Hold up there, love," Luxord raised a hand to stop her. Then he stroked his chin thoughtfully, his lips forming a roguish smirk. "Perhaps you're just the medicine our ailing boy needs. Come on," he turned and gestured for her to follow him inside.
Roxas looked taken aback. "Wha- but the rules-"
"Bugger the rules!" he scoffed with a wave of the hand. "What the Superiors don't know won't hurt them. Besides, what's life without a little risk? Let's roll the dice and see what comes up. Now be a good lad and scout ahead."
A slow, but fierce smile spread across Roxas's face. He then turned to Elsa to give her a reassuring nod. She answered with an uncertain smile. Was this really okay? She took a deep breath. Best not to think about it too much. Stepping inside the foyer, she watched as Roxas picked up a feather duster that he had left on a nearby bookshelf and ran up a grand staircase leading to the second floor. She did her best to stifle a laugh. That maid outfit was just too ridiculous. And was that hosiery he was wearing?
When he reached the top, his head swiveled from side to side as he looked around, then gave them the all clear by shooting them a thumbs up. Luxord was the next one to go up the stairs, followed closely by Elsa, with Demyx bringing up the rear.
Once they had regrouped, Luxord signaled for them to all keep quiet by bringing a finger to his lips before pointing at Roxas, then pointing down the hall. The shorter boy nodded before running ahead and disappearing around the corner. The remaining three crept slowly after him as stealthily as they could. They were actually quite successful at it too, as not a sound could be heard from any of them.
Not a sound, that is, until Demyx.
Elsa and Luxord backs went rigid as they froze at the first few notes plucked from the musician's guitar. She spun around to gape at him. Then after a few more notes of the melody played, she realized she recognized the tune. She cocked an eyebrow and asked in a hushed tone, "Is that… the Mission Impossible theme song?"
He shrugged and beamed, fingers still dancing over the strings. "Figured we needed some epic sneak music if we wanted to succeed."
Luxord pinched the bridge of his nose and whispered harshly, "You realize that loudly playing sneak music while sneaking around kind of defeats the purpose?"
"Shows what you know," Demyx harrumphed as he continued to play.
He scowled. "If you don't stop, I'll break that fucking thing over that feather-brained skull of yours."
The strings screeched unhappily as he abruptly stopped. He gulped and hugged his guitar protectively to himself.
Giving a curt nod, Luxord turned back around and snuck the rest of the way down the hall, the other two following in now complete silence. He covertly peeped around the corner that Roxas had run down, then beckoned them forward with a hand gesture.
They turned into the new hallway, where Roxas could be found, doing his best to not look suspicious while he dusted a potted plant and stood watch. Closed doors lined the walls on either side of the corridor, each adorned with various decorations and a Roman numeral which, her best guess, would be the room number. The door bearing the number VI, for example, bore a lot of what appeared to be quotes, the most predominant being a large plaque in the middle that simply stated, "We're all mad here."
She had spent less than ten minutes inside this frat house and she already knew it was difficult to find fault with that statement.
Demyx's eyes followed Elsa's gaze to that door, then whispered, "That's Zexion's room. He's a huge book nerd."
Luxord whirled around once more and hissed, "Better than a gormless twit who doesn't know when to keep his bloody trap shut."
"Bite me, Harry Potter," Demyx stuck his tongue out at him. Then his eye twitched and his whole face scrunched up. "Okay, dude, seriously, knock it off. That shit really creeps me out."
"What?" he asked, then looked down at his own chest when his housemate pointed there. The fabric of his shirt shifted about, making it quite clear that his pecs had decided to pick up where they had last left off, now performing something akin to the mambo. He grinned sheepishly as the muscles beneath his shirt settled down. "Sorry, mate. Once they get started, hard to make them stop. Damn things have a mind of their own."
"My my, what do we have here?"
Everyone flinched at the sound of the deep, silvery voice that belonged to none of them. In their distraction, they had all failed to notice when the door bearing the number XI on it had swung open and a man had stepped out. He leaned against the doorframe with his thumbs hooked in his pockets. He had dark blue eyes and ruffled pink hair that was tied back into a low pony tail. One corner of his mouth was turned up mischievously.
Everyone just stared at the newcomer, not one of them daring to speak. "Don't all chime in at once," he chuckled softly, his gaze roving over Elsa from head to toe. He smirked. "Is it just me or do our pledges get prettier and more effeminate every year?"
"Look who's talking," Demyx muttered. He then made a startled choking noise as Roxas shoved his feather duster into the musician's mouth to silence him.
Stepping in front of Elsa, Luxord said casually, "Nothing to see here. Nothing at all. You're just high on your poppies. Now go back into your room and-"
"Relax, your secret's safe with me," he brushed him off. "I have no reason to snitch to the Superiors. But whatever you plan to do with her, better make it quick. Wouldn't want Saix to catch you smuggling her in here. Or worse, Xaldin."
All the boys shared a collective shudder, and she got the feeling she really did not want to bump into this Xaldin person.
"And what's your name, Lovely?" the newcomer asked, bending down towards her and offering her a rose.
She blinked at the flower. Where had that come from? And what kind of person just kept roses at hand, ready to gift to random girls? Accepting it reluctantly, she answered, "Elsa."
"Enchanté, Mademoiselle," he murmured, taking her hand in his to place a delicate kiss on the back of it. "I am Marluxia, though you may call me Marly."
She blinked a second time.
Okay, first of all... Marly? Wasn't that the name of the guy Axel had said he could set her up with back when he had first found out she had never had a boyfriend? She recalled him mentioning the pink hair, so it had to be. But why this guy? No offense, but he seemed like a bit of a tool.
Second of all, what was up with everyone's name here? Luxord and Demyx? Roxas and Saix? Zexion, Xaldin, and now Marluxia? When she had first learned Axel's name, she had thought it a bit odd, but comparing it now to the names of his frat brothers, his almost sounded normal.
Her train of thought was broken when she heard Roxas say, "Um… guys?" Everyone turned to find him peeking around the corner of the hall they had come from. He looked back at them, eyes anxious as he whispered through grit teeth, "Saix's coming."
"Welp, that's my cue," was all Marly said before retreating back into his room, shutting the door swiftly behind him.
Rolling his eyes, Luxord commanded, "Roxas, Demyx, go stall him."
Roxas nodded and dashed around the corner. Demyx was less quick to react as as he indignantly placed his hands on his hips. "Why do I have to? I'm not just some pledge you can boss around and-"
"Just go!"
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going," he huffed before following after Roxas.
Luxord snatched up Elsa's wrist and rushed down the corridor. Her feet stumbled as she had little choice but to be dragged along behind him. She did however take the opportunity to toss the rose. They came to a stop in front of door bearing the number VIII on it. He rapped a fist against the wood and called as quietly as he could while still trying to be heard through the door, "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!"
A long, pained groan could be heard from within the room on the other side, followed by a loud thump! Had he just fallen out of bed and onto the floor? Then a voice that she recognized as belonging to Axel responded sluggishly, "Whaddya want?"
"Special delivery!" was the only answer Luxord gave him.
"Go away, I don't feel like dealing with your bullshit today," his voice grumbled back.
The Englishman sounded positively giddy as he responded, "Trust me, you're going to want to come to the door for this. Don't say your big brother never did anything for you." Then he looked down at Elsa and a devilish smirk spread across his face as he added, "And make sure to put some pants on this time. No one wants to see that scrawny little toadstool you call a prick."
"Fuck you!" More crashing and banging could be heard from within the room.
Seemingly satisfied, Luxord winked at her before running down the hall in the direction the others had gone, cackling maniacally as he too vanished around the corner. Elsa watched him go with wide eyes.
What had she gotten herself into?
The stomping of approaching footsteps could now be heard from the other side of the door. Then there was the click of a lock unlatching before the door swung open, revealing Axel. A very angry, very shirtless Axel in low hanging pyjama pants patterned with little cartoon flameballs bearing tiny happy faces.
"I'm gonna shove my foot so far up your ass, you'll-" he spat out into the hall, then stopped when he realized there was no one eye-level with him. Making a bewildered noise, he looked down and finally spotted her. His face went blank. "Elsa? What are you-"
"Saix! Old chum!" Luxord's voice echoed loudly from down the hall. "Just the man I wanted to see! Have I shown you my latest card trick?"
"Shit," Axel mumbled, then grabbed Elsa's hand and yanked her into his room, slamming the door shut behind them.
He spun around and leaned his back against the door, pressing his ear to it as well to listen for any movement out in the hallway. He had instinctively hugged Elsa to him, one arm wrapped around her shoulders, the other holding her head against his chest. His very firm, very bare chest. She felt a blush creeping up her neck as she listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her cheek. He smelled of sweat, with the faint but familiar underlying scent of cinnamon. Why did he always smell like cinnamon anyway?
They stayed that way for a moment as Axel continued to listen. When it seemed he finally felt confident that no one was going to come breaking down his door looking for intruders, he released a breath he had been holding and she felt his whole body relax. Then he became aware that he was still holding onto her. She could have sworn she heard his heartbeat quicken in the split second before he released her and they separated. Or maybe she was just projecting?
"How... did you get up here?" he asked after a pause, his eyebrows knitting together.
"You know, I'm actually not fully sure of that myself," she said slowly. At the questioning tilt of his head, she went on, "Well, it's all just sort of a muddled blur… between Roxas wearing a French maid outfit, Demyx providing us a stealth theme song, Luxord taking off his shirt and making his man boobs do the tango-"
"He did what?!" he snarled. Pounding a fist into the palm of his other hand, he growled, "That douchey, perverted English dandy. When I get my hands on him-"
"Don't get too mad at him. After all, he was a big help in getting me here."
He still looked a little miffed, but he apparently decided to let it drop for now. "...why are you here anyway?"
She smiled at him as if the answer should be obvious. "I wanted to check up on you, of course."
He blinked. "Really?" He rubbed the nape of his neck and muttered, "You're gonna get sick."
"No, I won't. I don't get colds. Strong immune system," she chirped brightly. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Like crap," he stated bluntly, lumbering past her. His room was a mess, with clothes and crumpled up papers strewn about the floor. Most of his furniture was covered in junk, and his walls and ceiling were plastered with posters depicting motorcycles and bands that Elsa hadn't heard of. When he reached his bed, he shoved what looked to be a chubby Cthulhu plushie off it and onto the rug, then turned and fell backwards onto the mattress, arms splayed out to either side of him.
She traversed the obstacle course that was his floor, careful to avoid stepping on anything as she walked over to stand in front of him. "Sit up."
He grunted and, with what appeared to be a great effort, he did as he was told. Even with him sitting down, she was barely an inch taller than him. She reached a hand out towards him and he leaned away from it, raising an eyebrow at her. "What are you doing?"
"What's it look like, you spaz? I'm trying to see if you have a fever. Now come here." She stretched out her hand. He hesitated for a beat, then hunched forward once more, pushing his forehead into her palm. She frowned, "Jeez, you're burning up."
He chuckled tiredly and murmured, "Are you saying you think I'm hot?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "In your dreams." She began to withdraw her hand, but then his own shot up to hold hers in place. A startled sound of confusion emitted from her throat.
"Your fingers are cold. It feels nice," he explained softly, closing his eyes. He kept her hand pressed to his brow for a few seconds more, then moved it to the side of his neck.
...okay?
He held her hand at its new location for a minute, seemingly content. Then he moved it to his chest.
Aaaaand that's enough of that.
She wrenched her hand free. Axel pouted slightly, but didn't otherwise protest. She cleared her throat, then asked, "Have you been able to get much rest today?"
He shook his head. "Not really. Spent most of my morning hugging a toilet. Tried to sleep after that, but haven't really been able to pass out for more than a few minutes at a time."
She opened up her bag and began to shift the items around inside it, looking for something. "Have you been able to eat anything? How's your stomach now?"
"Angry. Seems to have settled, but it still hurts."
"This should help with that." She pulled a bottle of cold medicine out of her pack. Eyes still scanning the contents of her bag, she offered the bottle to him without looking up. He took it, squinting at its logo for a second, then unscrewed the cap. "That stuff's pretty potent. You should only drink a small-"
Elsa words died on her tongue as she glanced up to see him chugging the medicine straight from the bottle. Wiping his mouth on his arm, he asked, "What?"
She stared blankly at him in silence. Finally, she muttered, "Nevermind." She took it back and after a quick peek at the label to make sure an overdose wasn't going to kill him, she returned it to her bag. Next she pulled out a giant thermos. "This is soup. For later when your stomach can handle it. It's good stuff."
Scratching his cheek, he said, "I've never felt so taken care of before." He accepted the proffered thermos, making a space for it on his cluttered nightstand before putting it down. "You shouldn't have."
She beamed at him before reaching into her satchel one more time, producing a textbook, her laptop, and a small stack of papers. "I also brought the notes from today's class and the assignment you missed."
His eyelids drooped. "You shouldn't have," he repeated flatly. "You really, really shouldn't have."
"Quit griping, you'll thank me later," she laughed, handing him the papers that consisted of the homework.
Sighing, he took them. He narrowed his eyes at the text written on the top sheet, bringing it close to his face. Then he opened his nightstand drawer and rummaged around in it before pulling something out. Elsa didn't get a good look at what it was until he had perched it atop the bridge of his nose.
She blinked. "...are those... glasses?"
He froze, eyes wide behind the items in question. Then in a blur of movement, he snatched them off his face and hid them behind his back. "Nope. They're, ah... little windows for the miniature house that is my skull. So that the tiny people that live in my head can see out."
"They are glasses. You need glasses!" She leaned to one side, trying to look behind him.
He twisted his body to block her view. "Nu uh. You're seeing things. So clearly, you're the one who needs glasses."
"Come on, put them back on."
"Put what back on?" he asked innocently. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. He sighed, "Fine." He grudgingly brought them forward and slid them onto his face.
The lenses were small and rectangular and held in a glossy black plastic frame. She didn't know why he was being so self-conscious about them. He looked nice. Hell, he looked better than nice. He looked like he should have been modeling them, in all his shirtless glory, on the cover of some sort of bifocal monthly magazine. The eyewear probably would have sold like hotcakes. They made him look… intellectual. Telling him that would probably just piss him off though given how touchy about them he was being, so instead she just smiled and opted for, "They look good on you."
He gave her a doubtful look, then rubbed his shoulder. "If you say so."
She shook her head. "How did I not know you wore glasses?"
"Because I don't wear glasses. I wear contacts," he replied. "These relics don't leave my room. I just use them if don't have the patience for poking little bits of chemically-soaked plastic into my eyes."
She nodded. "How bad is your sight, anyway? Can I see?" she asked, reaching out for them.
He eyed her hand for a few seconds. Then he pursed his lips as he took the glasses off once more and gave them to her. Putting them on, the room instantly became a blur of colors around her. She squinted, wrinkling her nose. "Wow. So this is what Axel-vision is like. I half expected them to be X-ray specs," she teased.
When he didn't respond, she shifted her gaze to him, the room seeming to twirl a bit with the motion. He was just staring at her. He blinked, then averted his gaze. "Take them off."
Her head tilted slightly to the left. "Why? Don't like how they look on me?"
"...quite the opposite, actually," he answered, his voice unnaturally gruff.
Her stomach did a little somersault.
It's a sad day when you realize your stomach is more athletic than you are.
Clearing her throat, she hastily removed them and handed them back to him. She watched as he set them aside on the nightstand and she arched an eyebrow. "Didn't you take those out to read the homework?"
"Yah, but that's not happening," Axel said as he flopped back down onto his mattress. "Head hurts too much. Feels like King Kong has been tap dancing on my brain."
"Now there's an image."
"Tell me about it," he grumbled, pressing a palm into one eye. "Can't concentrate enough to read the words."
She smiled sympathetically. "That medicine you drank should help with that once it kicks in."
As he stared up at the ceiling, one side of his lips slowly twitched upward. "In the meantime, I suppose you could just read for me."
A crease formed between her eyebrows as she flatly asked, "What?"
Propping himself up on his elbows, he said, "Yeah. Read it all out loud to me. You want me to study, don't you?"
"All of it? But it's not just the assignment instructions. There's also my notes from class, plus we need to read chapter thirty-one."
"So? I've got no place to be, and I know for a fact you don't, Miss Study-Aholic. Come on, you came here to take care of me, didn't you?"
"That's not-" she clamped her teeth down on her words, pressing her lips into a thin line. Then she looked around the room for a chair. If there was one, it had long ago been devoured by the chaos and disorder that covered his room. "Where would I even sit?"
He promptly scooched over and patted his hand on the space he had made on his double sized mattress.
She snorted. "No."
"Aw, why not? What's the problem?" He looked down at himself. "Is it the lack of shirt? I can fix that." He reached a hand down to the floor on the other side of his bed and retrieved a shirt at random from the mess, putting it on. "There. The beasts have been caged."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, the beasts?"
"You know. Thang One and Thang Two," he pointed first at his left pectoral, then at the right one.
Elsa slapped her forehead. "That statement just made me lose all respect for you."
"Woah." His eyebrows shot up. "You had respect for me in the first place?"
"I know, it came as a shock to me too."
"Come on, please?" He begged, drawing the word out and giving her puppy-dog eyes.
She rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand, hiding the smile that was forming. "Fine," she sighed. She gathered the class materials and primly took a seat beside him on the bed, determinedly ignoring the huge grin on his face. As she took the assignment papers in hand, a soft chuckle hummed in her throat.
"What's so funny?" Axel asked.
Not looking up, she replied. "Nothing, really. Just musing that I might be the first girl who will remain fully clothed the entire time I'm in this bed."
"You'd be surprised." He flashed a toothy smirk before bending down close to her ear. His breath tickled as he spoke, making her shiver involuntarily. "Getting naked is great and all, but is not necessarily required in order to... take pleasure in another's company. For starters, there's-"
Her hands flew up to cover her ears as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. "I'm not hearing this. La la la!"
He chuckled, giving her back her space as he slouched down and used his arms to cushion his head. "Oh, my sweet summer child. Your innocence is precious."
Elsa gave a soft harrumph, "Whatever. Can we please just study now?"
"By all means," he allowed with a wave of his hand. In a light singsong, he added, "You're the one who brought it up though."
She cast a pointed look in his direction. "Don't think I won't kick your ass just because you're sick, funny boy."
He bit back a laugh and threw up his hands in surrender. Nodding firmly, she flipped through the pages of her textbook until she found the chapter she needed and began to read the text aloud.
Reading aloud is an activity that requires patience, focus, and no shortness of breath. Luckily for Elsa, this wasn't her first rodeo. When she was younger, she had grown up with Anna crawling into her bed practically every night, dragging along some children's book with her that was often bigger than she was, demanding her older sister read it to her. Nightly story time had continued long after Anna was old enough to read them to herself, as well as long after their parents had passed away. Perhaps they had continued so long because of their parents' passing.
In any case, Elsa had plenty of experience when it came to reading to another. Admittedly, a college textbook was not nearly as fun as a children's storybook. And the pictures were fewer and far less interesting. Still, she found that reading to Axel was not so different from reading to Anna.
...she really needed to stop comparing Axel to her little sister.
Fifteen minutes into the chapter, she looked up from the book to see the redhead's eyes closed. She frowned, then whispered, "Hey." No response. She poked him in the nose and repeated a little louder, "Hey."
"Hm?" he grunted, one eye cracking open.
"Are you sleeping?"
He yawned. "Nah, just resting my eyes," he replied groggily before letting his eyelid fall shut again.
She snorted, "Oh no. I know what that means. Stay awake. I'm not doing this if you're just gonna fall asleep." She poked him in the nose again. "Come on, Axel, I-"
"Lea."
Her brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"
"My name. It's Lea," he murmured, still "resting" his eyes.
She blinked. "Is your fever making you delusional, silly? Your name is Axel."
"That's just the name the Thirteen gave me," he yawned again. "It's a stupid frat thing, we all get one. My real name is Lea."
Huh. Guess that explained what the deal was with all the strange names here. Not sure what exactly she was supposed to do with her newfound knowledge, she simply said, "Okay… Lea."
One corner of his mouth shifted up. Then he rolled over and curled up at her side, hugging her knees to his chest and resting his head in her lap. "Keep reading," he requested, his words tired and faint. "I like the sound of your voice."
Her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks felt warm enough to roast marshmallows on. It made her feel ridiculous, but she couldn't help it. Here he was, cuddling up with her like a freaking puppy. A puppy that was too big for its own good.
Hadn't he said something about not sleeping well? Maybe that combined with the medicine finally kicking in had made him lose any sense of boundaries and not fully aware of his own actions.
Then again, maybe the little flirt knew exactly what he was doing.
She stared down at him for a second, massaging the side of her neck with one hand. Finally, she just shook her head as a tiny smile ghosted over her lips. She'd let it slide. This time. Lifting the book back up, she began reading again where she had left off.
It wasn't until several hours later that she roused him, and only because her legs were cramping up from not moving for so long. With the help of Roxas (no longer in the maid uniform, sadly), they snuck her out of the building so she could retrieve her car and drive home.
Axel sighed as he returned to his room, the door clicking shut behind him as he made a beeline for his bed. Some of his appetite had returned to him, so he picked up the thermos Elsa had left behind for him before he crashlanded onto the mattress. The soup was good and he was pleasantly surprised to find it still warm. As he swallowed it down, he looked at the assignment papers still spread out on the other side of his bed. He still had no idea what the homework was. As he picked the sheets up, something fell out from between them.
It was a little folded up piece of paper that looked very familiar. Intrigued, he retrieved it and opened it up. As he had guessed, it was the note he had taped to the bottom of Elsa's chair, with the usual question and the usual yes/no checkboxes. However, a third checkbox had been added. Written beside it in Elsa's neat handwriting was:
I guess I don't find you completely repugnant.
This box had a checkmark in it.
He snorted as his head fell back into his pillow. "Cheater. That wasn't one of the choices."
Author's Note: Okay, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. Like, ever. Demyx and Luxord were so fun. And really, they came out of left field. Yes, I knew I was going to use them this chapter, but their scene was only supposed to be like 500 words long. But somehow they just... kept going xD Apparently they had a lot of buffoonery to get out of their system!
Fun Facts - Thank you so much again for sending in your questions, they make me do a lil happy dance. Unfortunately, I am out of town this week (at Blizzcon yo, if you know what that is xD Quinton Flynn might be there - he was last year and I got him to sign my phone, which was the only thing I had on hand that was KH themed xD but I digress) and don't have much time to think about and reply to these questions this week ;_; I was considering even skipping posting a chapter this week just due to time constraints, but I was outvoted xD So I worked hard to make sure this would be ready to post on time! In any case, I digress again - while I will not be able to answer ALL your questions this time around, I did make the time to answer a few xD The rest I'll get to another time! Here goes:
Things they do on rainy days! The rain depresses Axel. He'll often skip class when it's raining and just sleep all day. Elsa will stay in bed on a rainy day too, but for different reasons. She likes the sound of it. She'll just listen to it, cozy in bed, drinking hot cocoa, and eventually settle in for a movie or binge watching some TV show with Anna (if her studying is all done, of course).
Ages! As of this chapter, Elsa is 21, Axel is 24 (yup and still in college. He keeps switching up his major, the indecisive little shit), and both Roxas and Anna are 18.
Xion! Sorry no, Xion is not in this story, mainly because when I was plotting it I hadn't played 358/2 Days yet so I didn't know much about her. I have played it by now and would love to find a way to include her, and if the opportunity arises to find a good place to slip her in, I will! But as of right this moment, there are no plans, sorry! If I ever write a sequel to this story (there have been musings), she will DEFINITELY be in that.
Alright, the rest of your questions will have to wait until next week! Special thanks and much love to SoraKairiRikuNamine, Ladies of Literature, and xStrayGodx for their fantabulous reviews! Thank you one and all for reading, hoped you liked it, please leave feedback and let me know what you think! Until next week!