Hopefully I'll be able to upload next week; I'm performing in our spring drama production and...well...things get extremely hectic. That's life though, huh? =/
Ok, I need your opinions on whether or not I should shorten the next chapter. It's about Kairi being a freak, with some SoraxRiku...it's not terrribly important, honestly, and I feel like this story is getting too long. (I can't seem to stop writing, hahaha) So keep it? Cut it up? Get on with Axel? (Good idea, right?)
The reviews really keep me going, so thank you!
~KeedaxEmry
"Coward!" he snapped. "You sneaking around with other people's girlfriends?"
I backed away from him, not wanting to encourage him by fighting back.
It was after gym class; Clyde had followed me down the hall, and was now screaming insults at me. People grouped around us in a semicircle as I stopped and stood in front of him, only a foot in front of a long row of lockers.
"I still have no idea what you're talking about." I made myself seem calm, although my heart was hammering against my ribs. I've dealt with worse, I told myself. He wouldn't—
He put his hand on my shoulder and shoved me. I took a step back to regain my balance, and he seem to take that as a sign that he had hurt me or something. He smirked, "I bet you're regretting it now, aren't you?"
I tried to sidestep around him, but he lashed out at me suddenly, kicking and punching any bit of me he could find. I managed to dodge most of them, ducking and avoiding the vague shapes headed towards me, though one particularly painful kick hit me in a spot on my leg that was already tender. I gasped, and my hand cupped it as it pounded excruciatingly.
Clyde stopped for a moment to catch his breath. I glanced at him, and he sneered at me, panting but obviously delighted at my pain as the crowd egged him on. I was trying to inch away when I noticed Axel pushing through the crowd. He's just going to make this worse, I thought.
He marched up to Clyde, and calmly tapped his shoulder. Clyde's face, which was only a foot away from mine, became confused.
"Excuse me?" Axel asked evenly.
"I'm a little busy," Clyde spat.
"Beat the shit out of him for messing with your friend, Axel!" some girl yelled, which was followed by a bunch of enthusiastic cheering.
Axel shook his head, a mildly disgusted look on his face, and poked Clyde square in the back.
Clyde started to turn around, annoyed, saying, "Wha—"
He didn't have a chance to finish because Axel slammed his fist into Clyde's temple.
Clyde fell back, moving closer to me and further away from Axel. He clutched his forehead angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he barked out.
"I don't think I need to answer that. C'mon Roxas."
I made to follow him, but Clyde jumped on Axel, and the two of them fell to the floor.
They became a blur of aggressive movement. From the grimace on Clyde's face, it would seem like Axel was winning. But it was hard to tell. I didn't know what to do. People in the crowd had begun chanting, ninety percent of them rooting for Axel, and the other ten percent for Clyde.
Axel pinned Clyde on the ground, holding his arms down as Clyde struggled. "Do you want us to get in trouble? Fucking idiot, calm down."
"Get off!" Clyde shouted. He wrenched his arm out of Axel's grasp and socked Axel in the mouth. Axel groaned, and he took the opportunity to kick him in the gut and jump to his feet.
I scooted further away as they grew more violent.
"Break it up!" Lexaeus's voice rumbled over everyone's heads.
The people in the crowd looked at each other, and, a split second later, they scattered, leaving me standing over Axel and Clyde.
Lexaeus grabbed Axel with his left hand and Clyde with his right. He hoist them off their feet as if they were as light as feathers. Axel looked unphased apart from his open, bleeding lip; Clyde looked pretty banged up, with a swollen face. I was sure that he was covered in bruises as well.
"Come on you three," Lexaeus commanded.
"Let go of me!" Clyde struggled, flailing his arms and legs.
Lexaeus shrugged, and let him go. He stumbled, and landed on his knees. He jumped up, baring his teeth furiously. Axel was still dangling from Lexaeus's grip.
Once he was sure that they would be no more fighting, he let go of Axel as well, and led us all to the principal's office.
The three of us followed behind Lexaeus. I couldn't see past his broad back. Axel had put himself in-between Clyde and I, although there was no point to do so, considering Lexaeus would have stopped any violent act in a second.
"You're going to get us all in trouble," I said to Axel.
"I wasn't just going to stand by and watch while he tried to beat you up!"
"Obviously." I shook my head. Now that we were all in the same boat, I felt like I could talk to Clyde in a somewhat friendly manner. "Who's your girlfriend?"
"Taylor," Clyde said, wiping blood off his mouth. When did that get there?
"...um...I don't know who that is," I admitted.
"Didn't even learn her name, did you?" he muttered.
"What's she look like?"
"Gorgeous blond hair, heart-shaped face, hazel colored eyes..." he trailed off, as if lost in a happy trance.
"Still don't know who that is."
"I don't know if I should believe you or not."
"Why would he lie about that?" Axel pointed out.
"I guess," Clyde admitted reluctantly. "Then why did Demyx tell me—"
"Demyx? Where does he come in?" I asked.
"He's the one who told me that you were messing around with Taylor."
Axel cursed. "Demyx," he growled. "I shoulda known."
Clyde's eyes flitted over towards me. He seemed much less threatening now, with his red face, and confused eyes. "What?"
"Demyx set this all up, I'm sure of it. Probably to prove something stupid."
"So, Roxas, you never...?"
"No, of course not!" I sighed. "My dad's going to kill me."
"No kidding," we all sighed.
We reached the principal's office, and were told to sit outside to wait. Lexaeus had a quick word with her (after telling us sternly to stay put) and then he left while the three of us settled into the small, uncomfortable, plastic chairs.
"Sorry," Clyde muttered after a moment of silence.
"Demyx should be saying that," I mentioned.
"I feel like such an idiot."
"That's because you—" I kicked Axel to shut him up.
The door opened, revealing the scowling principal. She had short, straight, blond hair and cat-eye classes. She was on the skinny side, and she impatiently bowed us into her office.
Her office as petite as her waist. A brown desk covered in paper, a computer chair, and three chairs that were obviously just placed there filled the room.
The three of us sat down, facing her desk. She sat too, and began to play with a pen, clicking it repeatedly. It was silent; was she waiting for us to own up, or something?
I glanced at Axel and Clyde. Axel seemed bored, while Clyde seemed nervous. Axel noticed me tapping my foot on the ugly carpet, which is one of the things I do when I'm on edge. He gave me an encouraging smile then cleared his throat.
"Miss. Karissa?" he said. I had to admire his courage, especially when her neck snapped towards him, and she stared him down like a hawk getting ready to grab its prey. He stared right back, unflinchingly. "Can we get on with it, please?"
I wanted to wince at that, but I forced myself not to. Both Clyde and I were staring down into our laps. I had the feeling that Axel was use to getting in trouble, while Clyde and I...not so much.
"Mr. Vantwellez, I would think that you would have more respect than that." Her voice had a slight British accent to it, and she spoke with a high-and-mighty tone.
Axel gave a slight nod that was more like a shrug than anything else. "Of course, Miss. Karissa. I just thought that you were the one acting rude."
She just kept clicking that pen thoughtfully. I wish I could have ripped it from her hands and thrown it out the window, but we were in enough trouble as it was. Thankfully, she stopped a moment later, and set it on her desk, folding her hands on top of it. "Clyde Dabney, Axel Vantwellez, Roxas Peyton. I am extremely disappointed in the three of you, and, as you know, we have a strict no-fighting policy. Do any of you have anything to say? Which one of you started this?"
Clyde made a strangling noise, which I assumed was him trying to speak. I was wondering if Axel was going to rat him out, or if, because we had made peace, he would keep quiet.
"It was my fault," Axel said.
"And why did you choose to use violence as a way to solve things?"
"I wanted—"
"No, I started it!" Clyde divulged. "I was beating Roxas up because I thought he was messing with my girlfriend, and Axel stopped me! That's all that happened!"
"Is this true?" she asked.
"Roxas didn't do anything," Axel said. "He never even tried to defend himself."
"From what Lexaeus told me..." she cleared her throat. "Let me get this straight: Clyde attacked Roxas, Roxas let him, and then Axel came and, in turn, attacked Clyde to defend Roxas?"
"Yes, ma'am," Clyde and Axel chimed in agreement.
"Clyde, Roxas never laid a finger on you?"
"No."
"Roxas, do you agree with this story?"
"I...I..." Axel looked at me, seeming like he really badly wanted to say something. Why should they take all the blame? "I kind of—"
"Don't," Axel growled, low enough so that only I could hear him. He knew that I was going to place some of the responsibility on myself.
"...yeah," I managed.
"Roxas, since you're new here, and your record is clean, I will let you get off with a warning. But I will have to inform your parents about this event. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Get to class."
I did so, even though I didn't want to leave them there.
The day pasted by slowly; I practically ran to Biology, just to find that Axel wasn't there. I sat down, pretending to read my textbook as I tried to think of what punishment they would have received.
The bell rang, and, after a quick trip to my locker, I dialed Axel's phone number.
I pushed through the buzzing crowd as I listened to the phone ring. There are many different clichés here, I thought as I waited; some Goth boy wearing trip pants practically ran into me as he texted on his phone. I pressed on before he could say anything, just so a girl wearing a revealing tank-top and skinny jeans could try to trip me. Her and her equally slutty friends giggled and sneered when I staggered. I ignored them, and walked out of the building to sit on the grass in the courtyard. This school is—
"Hello?" Axel finally answered.
"Hi Axel. What happened?"
"Not much. I got suspended." I pressed the phone closer to my ear in order to hear him above the loud, obnoxious voices of the other students heading home.
"For how long?"
"Til after Thanksgiving break." For some reason, he sounded distracted, which was unusual for him, because he always seemed to give me his full attention.
I sighed, disappointed. "That sucks. Are you grounded on top of that, or what?"
"Uh, Roxas, I have to go. I'll call you later, k?"
"Um, ok." I blinked when the line went silent.
"Hi Roxas!" Sora practically skipped up to me. Riku was behind him and he didn't bother greeting me. "Are you walking home with us today or are you getting a ride with Axel?"
"Walking," I sighed again.
Sora had forgiven me for pulling a prank on him, although Riku was still pissed about it. At least he hadn't tried to kill me yet.
The walk was all pain and suffering, a constant stream of words pouring out of Sora's mouth as Riku and I nodded and "Uh-huh"ed. Once we arrived home, Kelly tried to get us to eat some weird tofu thing. I outright refused while Sora and Riku tried to choke it down.
I sat at the table, spreading my Geometry homework in front of me. I guess I'll have time to do schoolwork since Axel's in trouble...I groaned, examining a really long word problem.
"Roxas, the school called today," Kelly said, sitting down across from me. I didn't bother to look up while I tried to find the keywords of the problem.
"Uh-huh."
"They said someone was trying to beat you up. Are you ok, sweetie? Do you need ice or bandages or medicine or—"
"I'm fine."
"They also said that your friend stood up for you. I would love to meet him sometime."
"Uh-huh."
"It just makes me so mad," she banged the table with her fist, causing me to glance up, "that the school system is this messed up to let little boys bully other little boys!"
If that was her mad, I wanted to see her furious. Her voice rose in pitch a little, the kind of voice that makes dogs wince, but other than that, she was the same as usual.
"Uh-huh," I supplied, bending back over my paper.
"Maybe we should go out to dinner or something. Would that make you feel better, sugar pie?"
"Not really."
I gathered my stuff in my arms, and locked myself up in my room.
The rest of the day was uneventful: I tried calling Naminé (no answer), and I tried calling Axel (no answer). After that, I gave up and went to bed.
XxXxX
There was only one week til Thanksgiving break, but it was torture. Instead of hanging out with Axel, I was forced to go home and either A. Hang out with my family or B. Avoid them. At lunch, I would mainly talk to Demyx (when I confronted him about the Clyde thing, he just said, "Hey, it proved my point, didn't it? Axel is freakin protective" with a half shrug) because, well, it was easy to keep the conversation going, since he'll just keep talking. They seemed to avoid talking about Axel for some reason.
I was getting worried. For that entire week, I talked to him once. And it went like this:
"Hello?"
"You finally answered!" I said, relieved.
"Sorry, Roxie, things have been crazy."
"I know it. Can you hang out sometime?"
"I don't know. I've been dealing with..."
"With what?"
But, no matter how hard I pressed, he wouldn't say. "Just things. I have to go, but I'll call you as soon as things calm down around here, ok?"
"Wait, Axel—"
"What?" His voice sounded completely miserable and it made my chest ache.
"I..." I stopped myself, swallowed hard, and started again. "What's wrong? Are you in a lot of trouble? Did your parents get mad?"
"You could say that," he laughed darkly.
"Is it my fault?" I asked, sounding just as miserable as him.
"No, o'course not. I'll talk to you later, Roxie."
"Ok. Bye Axel."
It was like we switched roles, and he was now the one with things to hide, the one who was overly sarcastic and temperamental.
I was already sleeping badly, but after that I could hardly sleep at all...
It was the first day of Thanksgiving break. I had spent the night tossing and turning, sleep coming in rough, short, patches. By the time I had fallen into a deep sleep, sunlight was streaming in the window.
"Good mooooooooorning, Roxas!"
Sora barged into my room, making as much noise as a herd of trampling elephants. I threw my pillow at him, my eyes still closed.
"If we don't leave soon, we'll be stuck in traffic!"
"Leave?" I mumbled, my thoughts fuzzy and confused.
"Yeah! Mom and dad are taking us to Six Flags for the day! And you..."
"ROXAS!"
I flinched awake as Sora yelled in my ear. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I growled, shoving him away from me.
"You fell asleep while I was talking," he sniffed, hurt.
I sank deeper into my pillows, yawning. "Uh-huh."
"No! Don't fall back asleep!"
Desperate, he began whacking me upside the head with a pillow from my bed. "What's wrong with him?" he shrieked.
"Sora?" Kelly came in and Sora stopped hitting me. Not that I could see anything with my eyes closed.
She gently shook my shoulder, and my eyes slowly opened. "Wha?" I drawled. "I'm tired."
"Roxas, you're worrying me."
"Uh-huh."
I would have fallen asleep at that moment if she hadn't yanked me out of bed. Her hand gripped my arm, and, no matter how hard I struggled, she wouldn't let go. And it hurt.
"What?" I snapped, annoyed.
Her expression softened. "Are you sick? How do you feel?"
"I'm fine, just let go of me!"
She released me, leaving white finger-shaped marks on my arm. She put the back of her hand on my forehead, and I let her, too exhausted to do anything other than stand there. "Are you sure? Well, you're not warm at least."
I made myself step away from her. "Never felt better," I grumbled.
She clapped her hands together with a, "Emergency family meeting!"
"Wh—"
She grabbed Sora and me and dragged us downstairs to the living room. She had us sit on the couch while she rounded everyone else up.
I leaned back on the couch, not even bothering to fight back. I closed my eyes. Of course, right when I fall asleep, they come, I thought darkly.
"Roxas? You sure you feel ok?"
"Yeah."
"Is it because you haven't seen Axel for a while?"
"No," I muttered.
"I'm not stupid," he pouted. "I know."
I opened my eyes to give him a weird look. "Sure you do."
"Yep!"
Riku strode in, Kelly and my dad behind him. Kelly was marching without bending her elbows or knees, and it made her look like an over-excited soldier. My dad walked stiffly, as if dreading this "family meeting." Riku, at least, walked normally. He sat on the couch, pulling Sora onto his lap. I scooted away as far as the couch would allow.
Kelly and my dad stood in front of us, perfectly blocking the blank TV from view. Kelly was wearing a jean skirt that went down past her knees; she had on a black sweater and her hair was pulled back in a high, bouncy ponytail. My dad was wearing khakis and a button-up shirt.
"This is our first meeting as a family. Isn't it exciting?" Kelly sang.
"Remember why we called this meeting, honey," my dad said softly.
"Right!" She pointed at me enthusiastically. She made everything like a performance, I thought dully. "We got several emails from your teachers."
"Ok," I said slowly.
"Each and every one of them said the same thing: that you were having trouble concentrating in class, and that it looked like the cause was lack of sleep. Sora! Show us the evidence!" She pointed at her son.
Sora, delighted to be a part of the demonstration, jumped off Riku's lap. "The evidence," he exclaimed. "This morning, he fell asleep while I was talking. Secondly, the bags under his eyes, the blank expression on his face, and the way he keeps blinking!" At each thing he listed, he pointed them out, his finger almost jabbing my eyes out. He nodded passionately, and sat back down on Riku's lap.
"Riku! Explain our concerns!" Kelly exclaimed, practically dancing in place.
"Uh..." Riku stood up, dumping Sora next to me. "Our...concerns..." He looked at everyone in the room. "It makes you grumpy," he said finally.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Kelly bobbed her head. "And?"
He glanced at her with a sour look on his face. It reminded me of those flat-faced cats who always look like they're in a bad mood. "You're easily influenced when you're tired, which causes you to do stupid things. And—"
"The evidence!" Sora cried out, bolting out of his seat, and pointing straight up. "The trick you played on me that was influenced by Axel!" He sat back down, evidently pleased with himself. Kelly beamed at him, and gave him a thumbs up.
"Thank you, Sora...and..." His voice seemed completely monotone and quiet in comparison to Kelly and Sora's voices. "It makes you act depressed...and...this concerns us because you could, uh, make more enemies, which means more people who would love beating you up...and you could become self destructive, or unstable...and you could start slacking off in school...and failing classes," he finished lamely. He quickly sat back down, with Sora on his lap in the next second.
"Next: how to solve the problem! First we must understand the nature of the problem." She put her hand on her hip, her other hand held out to her side, palm-up. "Roxas, when did this start?" she asked dramatically.
"Ever since you came into my life," I said darkly.
"Well, well, then," she tapped her chin thoughtfully, completely unphased. She was probably expecting a response like that. "The real question is, when did it get worse?"
"Ever since I started living with you."
My dad shot me a dirty look, so I cleared my throat. "Um, I mean..." I shook my head. "I don't know."
"That's quite alright, dear. We must now differentiate the problem from the things we only think are problems."
Does she even know what she's talking about? She did mention that she use to be a counselor...like that means anything, she's still an idiot.
"Roxas!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Would it be correct to say that you've been having trouble sleeping?"
What are you, a lawyer? "Yes," I said dryly.
"But you don't feel ill?"
"No."
"Have you noticed changes in your health?"
"Um, I'm tired."
She waved her arms in a circular motion. "And?"
"I seem to get a lot of headaches."
She didn't see the irony in that statement. "To sum up, Roxas is having trouble sleeping from an unknown cause, and it is causing him to lose focus in school, along with other negative effects, and we are all very worried about him. Did I miss anything?"
"No, you're doing great," my dad smiled at her.
"Thank you, darling," she purred. Then she was back to acting determined and theatrical. "We called this meeting to find a solution for our Roxas! Who has a suggestion?"
"Therapy." My dad's suggestion.
"Medicine." Riku's suggestion.
"A trip to the zoo!" Sora's suggestion.
"Peace and quiet." That was my suggestion, and it was, of course, muttered under my breath so that no one else could hear it.
"Those are all great ideas," Kelly beamed. "Now we must pick the best solution to the problem at hand!"
"Therapy costs a lot of money," my dad grumbled to himself.
"I think medicine is the easiest solution," Riku said, "since it would knock him right out."
"A trip to the zoo would make him happy and then he'd sleep like a baby!" Sora smiled at me.
I hated how, for the most part, it was like I wasn't there.
"It seems like there is more than one problem here," Kelly said. "Can anyone identify it?"
From counselor, to lawyer, to school teacher, I groaned mentally.
"He gets in trouble at school," my dad said.
"He bullies Sora and acts sadistic," Riku said.
"He's sad," Sora said meekly.
Kelly nodded at him. "Yes, Sora, exactly!"
"How about we put him on sleeping pills and happy pills?" my dad asked.
Kelly swatted at his head playfully, like he was a fly. "Shush. Roxas, why are you sad?"
"I'm fine."
"No you're not!"
"Ok then." I looked her dead in the eyes. "To name a few, my mom's dead, I had to move across the country to live with a house full of brainless dopes, and my best friend got suspended because of me."
"Roxas, that was uncalled for," my dad growled.
"But it's the truth," I shrugged. I gain courage when there are people around.
"Ok, fair enough," Kelly said. "Now we must go through the same process to find a solution for this problem."
"Wait, what's the solution for his sleeping problem?" my dad asked.
"Pills," Kelly said matter-of-factly.
"Oh."
"Sora, the evidence!"
"The evidence," he exclaimed again, having already jumped up, "he cries a lot—"
"I do not!" I said crossly.
Sora put his hand over his heart. "It's ok, Roxas, we're brothers. And," he continued, "he hardly ever smiles, or laughs. He doesn't enjoy my singing, and he doesn't enjoy things that make normal people happy! Like candy and pictures of kittens!" He sat back down.
"Riku, the concerns!" Kelly said.
He waved his hand, not even bothering to stand up. "Same as before."
"Roxas, when did this start?"
"What is the point of this?" I asked impatiently.
"We're trying to help you! So, when did this start?"
"I don't remember."
"The real question is—"
"Can we just get to the solution?" I snapped.
"Ok, ok." She gestured around the room. "Suggestions?"
"Therapy." My dad's suggestion.
"Medicine." Riku's suggestion.
"A trip to the zoo!" Sora's suggestion.
I groaned. "Will you get on with it?"
"Let's vote as a family!" Kelly smiled.
"Pills," my dad said.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"But that was our last solution. C'mon people, originality!" Kelly ranted.
"Did you ever think that he would be happier once he got more sleep?" Riku asked.
Kelly stopped. "Hmmmm..." she grinned, "you're absolutely right!"
"Are we done?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"I believe so, sweet pea!"
"Are we still going to Six Flags?" Sora asked, standing up.
"We'll go on Monday, as long as we can rush order the medicine."
"Ok, mom. Let's go watch Shrek, Riku!"
I went back upstairs, and laid in bed. Of course, now I couldn't fall asleep.
I continued my routine: call Naminé (no answer), call Axel (no answer).
I decided to surf the Internet, because if I didn't, I would die of boredom. Eventually, Hayner was online; I hadn't talked to him in what seemed like ages.
Roxas: Hey
He took longer than usual to answer, but he did.
Hayner: Hey
Roxas: What r u doing?
Hayner: Nothing
Roxas: Have you talked to Nami?
Hayner: Yeah
Roxas: Do you know what's wrong?
Hayner: I don't think it's my place to say
Roxas: What? Tell me!
Hayner: No
Roxas: I need to know! Did I do something wrong?
Hayner: Think about it.
Roxas: What is there to think about?
Hayner: Don't ask me that.
Roxas: I'm confused
Hayner: You shouldn't be
Roxas: Are you mad at me or something?
Hayner: Yeah, kinda
Roxas: What did I do?
Hayner: What didn't you do?
Roxas: Please! Why was Naminé crying?
Hayner: Because of you, idiot
Roxas: What did I do?
Hayner: If you guess things, I'll say which is right
Roxas: Ok umm, not talking to her enough?
Hayner: Nope
Roxas: She misses me?
Hayner: Ha, in your dreams
Roxas: What did I do? I feel like a wrongly convicted prisoner who is on death row.
Hayner: You should
Roxas: Why?
Hayner: We know.
Roxas: What? That makes no sense!
Hayner: That's the biggest hint I have. Did you at least apologize to her?
Roxas: For what?
Hayner: You really have no idea?
Roxas: NO
Hayner: Then I don't think I can help you
He logged off, leaving me staring, dumbfounded, at the screen. First Naminé, now him?
I shook my head, dialing his number.
"Hello?" Hayner sighed. It was weird hearing his voice after all this time, and, through the phone, he sounded older.
"What did I do?" I demanded.
"The thing is, you should know what you did. I have to go," he said coldly.
"Since when do friends treat each other like this? What is wrong with all of you?" I growled.
"What's wrong with you?" he snapped before hanging up on me.
I was more confused than ever. And no one would answer their phones.
XxXxX
On Monday, Kelly picked up my sleeping pills: a small, white bottle with a twist-on cap. It had a giant label on it, reading: "WARNING: KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN." The pills themselves were oval-shaped and light blue.
I put them in my medicine cabinet hanging above my sink.
"Hurry up, Roxas, we want to have plenty of time at Six Flags!" Kelly called from downstairs.
"I don't want to go, I have a headache!" I yelled.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
She gave up easily, I thought a few minutes later, when I heard the front door close. Maybe they figured out that I needed some time alone.
I spent the morning and the beginning of the afternoon lounging around. Watching movies (especially horror ones), trying to find something good to eat (which proved unfruitful), and calling Naminé and Axel (also a failure)—
Wait, my phone was ringing. I snatched it up from where it was laying on the couch. I didn't recognize the caller ID, but I answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Roxas. It's Zexion."
"Hi Zexion," I said, confused. "How are you?" I asked after a second of awkward silence.
"Good, I guess," he said, an annoyed infliction leaking through his voice.
"What's up?"
"You don't think Axel's avoiding you, do you?"
"Um, no. Is he?"
"No, no," he said sternly. "But you must be worried, and I'm sure that he hasn't been telling you everything."
"What? Is he ok?"
"He's fine, it' s just—"
The door bell rang suddenly, making me jump and drop my cell phone. I had never heard the door bell before, and it sounded suspiciously like the Meow Mix song.
By the time I put the phone back to my ear, he was saying, "...and he thinks that if he tells you this—"
"Zexion, I didn't hear anything you just said," I said flatly. "And I have to go," I winced as the ringing continued to play over and over.
"It's kind of important," he said, aggravated.
"Ok, ok, keep going."
I walked to the door, which was only a few paces away, as Zexion said, "It's just that after he got suspended..."
By then I was opening the door. The ringing abruptly stopped, and I thought, thank god.
But then I saw who was at the door.
"Kairi?" I gasped.
She looked up at me. She was the same as always. She looked a lot like Naminé, except she was more filled out, had more defined curves, and her hair was a red shade. She appeared to be a little better than the last time I saw her, and she seemed to have put more effort in her appearance today. She had makeup on, and she was wearing a tight, pink blouse, and a short pink skirt to match. She allowed herself to smile slightly at me, although it struck me as sad.
I stared, speechless. Zexion was still talking, and I swallowed hard.
I cut him off. "I'll call you back."
"What? Ro—"
I hung up and waited for her to say something.