A/N: Wassup? I am EXCITED This will be an amazing chapter, I can tell. Well, maybe not amazing, but things are about to happen so... yeah. Anyway, I mentioned that the lady at the desk was Larxene, but then I read my past chapters, and I realized that I already introduced Larxene. Sorry for the confusion, the desk lady's name is Naomi, I'm pretty sure I changed it in the other chapter already though, so you might not have noticed! ^-^
Disclaimer:
Me: Sora.
Sora: ?
Me: Can we be friends?
Sora: ...why?
Me: I adore you so much in the games so...
Sora: *grins * Okay!
SE: SORA! TRAITOR
Riku: Anyway, Let's make this short, BNS(Black Night Shadow) doesn't own KH.
Me: (damn...) Yeah...
ElectroNerd: I'm glad you liked the chapter, and the fact that you hate cellars and basements now makes me think I made the scene horrible enough, thanks!
MagicallyDeliciousLuckyCharms: Thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy that you loved the chapter! I noticed that you favorited (yeah, I know that's not a real word, I don't care!) and followed too, so I'm extremely happy! After I read your review, I immediately started working on this chapter, you're probably the reason I even started it!
IcyHeartedQueen: I'm glad you thought the Cleon was cute, that was a fun chapter to write, even though I'm writing on empty imagination levels. Anyway, I do feel really bad for Roxas, but it will get better. As for Namine, how she acts later will be... well, just wait and see!
LixalTheNobody: Hahaha! I didn't know Axel was an Adele fan XD. Anyway, I'm glad you're excited for this chapter, here it is! And Yush, things are heating up a lot... MWAHAHAHA!
Chapter 10
DRAMA BOMB
Axel smiled and waved at some passing students as he quickly made his way towards the front office.
Axel tried the door, and seeing as it was locked he pulled out a hair pin from inside his mass of fiery strands of hair. He fitted the hairpin into the lock and picked it with ease. He moved through the threshold and without wasting time, he closed and locked the door. He then plopped down in the chair and booted up the PC which started with unbelievably slow time. Axel tapped his foot impatiently, and glanced at the door, hoping no one was coming.
At long last, the computer demanded a pass code, and he typed in TICTOC, successfully granting him access.
He searched through the files, until he found one labeled, Roxas Strife. Just as Axel was about to open it, he heard footsteps in the hall. He tried to decide whether he should look at the file and be caught, or exit out of the file and hide.
The decision was made for him as the doorknob started to move as a result of someone unlocking it. The computer moved faster as he exited out of the file and logged off. Axel slid under the desk and froze in place just as Naomi entered the room, switching the light on.
The woman picked up a purse that had been lying on the couch in front of the desk. Axel listened intently as she turned off the light and left the room.
He breathed a sigh of relief and slowly got out from under the desk. As he began to move for the PC, the door suddenly flew open. Naomi stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring venomously.
"Uh...hi?"
"You dumb kid, get out of here!" Naomi snarled.
"But-"
"Leave!" she glared again, as if challenging him to argue.
"...okay." Axel walked away, regret dripping from his form, but he knew that if Roxas wasn't at school tomorrow, he was going to try again.
~IN THE CELLAR~
Roxas rocked back and forth, hunger growing in his stomach. The day of popcorn and ice cream with Axel seemed far away now. The cellar had no windows, so he couldn't see what time of day it was or anything. All he could do was wait.
Roxas stood and tried the door again. As it had a hundred times before, it remained locked. Roxas walked back to the far wall and sat back down on the stone floor. He bunched up his knees, and his face fell into a hard line.
~AN HOUR LATER~
Roxas heard a faint creaking sound coming from the direction of the door, and he snapped his head up, it wasn't the normal scuffle of rats. That was a sound that could only be made under the feet of a human. Roxas scrambled into a standing position, staring at the door. He narrowed his eyes, trying to cut through the gloom of the room to see the figure that entered.
"Hello Roxy~!" Namine purred happily.
"N-namine..." Roxas murmured, his voice cracked as if he'd been in there for weeks.
"Hehe! You look awful! I guess you learned your lesson, so I'll let you out, however," Namine's face darkened, "no dinner tonight, or we'll have another little... punishment~."
Roxas didn't reply except for a nod and brushed past her silently. He swayed slightly, and his stomach burned for food, but he ignored it for his pride and walked back to his room. He collapsed immediately onto his bed, feeling the need to cry, but unable to summon the will to do so. He fell into an uneasy sleep, frightened of the possibilities of tomorrow.
~AND THEN IT WAS MORNING~
Roxas rolled out of bed slowly, and glanced at the red numbers from his alarm clock. Roxas was greeted by a flashing '4:20 AM'. He sighed laboriously and trotted reluctantly out of his room and into the bathroom. After flickering on the light, he squinted his eyes and surveyed the bathroom. It had white walls and clean white tiles. On his left, there was a sink with marble counter tops and a large tub big enough for two people.
There was also a shower with glass sliding doors on the right that stood by itself and a door that led to the toilet. It was the only part of the house that was completely clean, because that's the way Namine wanted it. Roxas shivered at the name and stripped off his foul-smelling clothes.
In moments, he had already gotten the water from the shower to the right temperature, and began to wash his hair. He washed it with more care than normal, and it soothed his nerves slightly. The water was warm, almost hot, and it made him think of Axel. His let out a slight choking sound, but managed to muffle it with his arm.
~AND THEN~
Roxas went downstairs quietly as to not wake the other members of the house. He felt clean and calm now, but every time his thoughts strayed to the cellar, his whole body froze. He entered the kitchen silently and hurriedly popped a bagel in the toaster. When the treat made a ding sound and popped out of the toaster, Roxas carefully spread cream cheese over it.
Stuffing the bagel in his mouth and grabbing his backpack, Roxas made his way out of the door despite the early hour. His ratty sneakers slapped rhythmically onto the pavement. The blonde's footsteps were sure, taking him to one of his favorite places, the park.
The journey to the park took no more than a few minutes, and soon Roxas was eating his bagel sitting on a park bench, head tilted to the sky. His mind was calm and blank for a while, but then a sudden buzz of thoughts flew through his consciousness. As dawn reached the edge of the forest and flooded it with light, Roxas stood. He knew that eventually, he would have to face Namine, so he wasn't going to back down.
~AXEL~
The flame-haired teen stared intensely at the door, as if about to demand for Roxas to appear. His wish is granted as the door swung open and Roxas walked, slightly hunched over, into the room.
"Hey Blondie!" Axel called.
Roxas didn't respond except for a barely noticeable dip of his head. He sighed quietly and tapped his pencil on his desk.
Axel looked at him nervous and confused by the sudden distant behavior. Roxas seemed oblivious to Axel's response, totally consumed in his notes. Axel fixed his gaze on Roxas intensely, as if trying to probe his thoughts, but to no prevail.
Roxas's eyes never left his notes, and his lips were pressed together as if he were upset. Axel tried to ask him something via the old fashioned note, but it was easily intercepted by Mr. Evans AKA Leon.
"Hm? What's this?" Leon questioned, looking over at Axel who had just a second ago passed it to some kid named Zack who sat next to him.
"A note." Axel responded with a cocky grin, despite the part of him that was so worried about Roxas.
"Ah, would you like to read the contents of said note?" Mr. Evans asked.
Axel looked down. Normally, he would have made a joke out of it to keep it from being awkward or embarrassing. But this time, he didn't want Roxas to be even more upset than he was before. After all, maybe it would make him think their relationship was some big joke to Axel, which it wasn't.
"No sir." he said finally.
Mr. Evans smirked, balled up the piece of paper and tossed it into the trash can on the other side of the room. The class ooh-ed and aah-ed about his abilities unnecessarily for some time, before Leon got back to whatever they were talking about. Axel was too worried about Roxas to care.
~Roxas~
I felt bad. Axel seemed genuinely worried about me, and I sat there being a coward over something Namine said. But still, I don't want to go back into the cellar. What if Xemnas beats me? He used to do that before, even though he calmed down after a while. Still, who knows what Namine could say to rile him up again.
My deep contemplation is broken when I hear Axel calling me from somewhere down the hall. I try to walk faster, and I manage to lose him in the crowd, but part of me didn't want to lose him. I sigh dejectedly, knowing feeling sorry for myself won't do any good. I'll just have to go back to being a loner again. Now, the thought of school without Axel was bleak, even though I'd just met him, there was something about him...
I realize then that the halls were empty. What class did I have now? Um, lunch... yeah... lunch.
~AT LUNCH~
Sora and Riku appeared out of thin air in front of Roxas, one grinning, and the other with a neutral expression.
"Hiya!" Sora greeted him.
"...Hello..." Roxas said, not making eye contact.
"You don't look so well, are you sick?" Sora asked.
"No, I'm fine."
"Oh... okay,"
"If that's all you needed-"
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry about Namine's gang." Sora suddenly announced in a rush of words.
This caused Roxas to look him straight in the eye. He said "Namine's gang" not "Xigbar's gang". He gets it. Roxas smiled, "Do you want to eat lunch with me?"
~Axel~
Roxas... why is he sitting over there with them? Is he mad at me because I left him so fast last the other day? Or maybe... does he think I was too straightforward when I kissed his cheek? That took a lot of guts on my part, he has this habit of putting butterflies in my stomach. I sighed to myself. This time I had to do something, I wasn't going to let Naomi win.
~AFTER SCHOOL~
Roxas walked slower than usual towards his house. Worry gnawed at his mind, and he couldn't think properly. Yet, he still walked the familiar route to his home.
At the front porch, going inside seemed a death sentence. Roxas sighed and turned the doorknob slowly, until he heard a call from his left, "Roxas!" He whirled around, grateful for the distraction and delay. Cloud waved at him from his house next door.
"Hi, Cloud." Roxas said.
"Hm, you look tired." Cloud suddenly stated.
"Do I?" Roxas responded evasively.
"Yeah, you do." Cloud replied suspiciously, "Is everything all right?"
"Yea-, I mean... well not really..." Roxas said, looking down.
"What's up?" Cloud questioned. Roxas grimaced slightly. "Oh, uh, how about you come in?"
"That would be cool, thanks." Roxas grinned.
"No problem."
~AFTER SOME EXPLANATON~
"So, you are afraid of what Xemnas and Namine will think about you liking Axel, so you want to avoid him?" Cloud clarified.
"Yeah... I guess."
"It's a weird coincidence, you liking the guy whose parents own the school." Cloud mused more to himself than anyone else.
"What?"
"That's why he moved here with his mom. His dad wanted all of them to live together." Cloud said.
"Oh..." Roxas though about it for a moment.
"Anyway, back to the subject, I don't think you should let any one dictate who you want to like." Cloud paused, smiling, "You should apologize to Axel for ignoring him, and make up, soon."
"But what about Namine... and Xemnas?"
"You can live with me if things go over badly." Cloud said with a smile.
Roxas knew better than that, Cloud had it rough with his job, and he wouldn't be able to take in one more person.
"Thanks, Cloud." Roxas replied anyway.
"No prob." Cloud grinned.
"But... what if he locks me in the cellar agai-" Roxas stopped himself, remembering that he had avoided that part of the story.
"The cellar? Why did he lock you in the cellar?" Cloud asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"I-I don't know... he was drunk and-" Roxas stammered
"What else does he do?" Cloud interrupted
"N-nothing..." Roxas lied.
"Roxas, tell me the truth!" Cloud demanded.
"...he used to hit me," looking at Cloud's expression, he quickly amended, "but that was a long time ago!"
"Roxas, this is really bad, we need to..."
DUN DUN DUN
A/N: Sorry it took so long, I was just... busy. I have been having a lot of work on my other stories (original ones) and I kinda forgot about Heal. My bad! *sheepish grin * Anyway, my updates have been kinda slow recently, so I'm going to try to work faster now! I hope you liked the DRAMA, but it's gonna be solved soon though so...yeah. Well, that's it! Stay Tuned! ^-^