A/C: Oh gawd, the chaps are getting shorter...SORRY!!! But if i don't upload it now i won't for another few weeks...So yeah...THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE LOVELY REVIEWS!!!


Roxas' POV

School kept passing by. I'd never paid much attention to it anyway. Well…except maybe art. You could be dark in there and they called it creativity.

Anyway…Sora was kept busy between Axel's (who I was avoiding like the plague for some reason…) "tutoring" (taken over by the actual class bout a week ago) and Riku's obsessing. How I wanted to strangle that silver haired pretty boy…but that's beside the point. And what is the point? I was running out of money. It'd been just barely two weeks. I had three options. And none of them was what I'd call pleasant…

One, I could call home. I ruled that out almost as soon as it entered my mind. Like hell I'd go crawling back there…Just the thought had me shivering.

Two, I could ask Cloud. That was also ruled out almost immediately. I'd eat my own arm and leg before I'd ever ask him for something. And besides, why would I want him snooping around my goddamn business?

Three, I could ask Xemnas…he had offered several times…in exchange for something of course. I'd yet to ask what I'd have to pay him…but it didn't look like I had much of a choice. It's not like I needed a lot…just enough to last two weeks, when the scholarship I got provided an "allowance."

Sora thought we were set on money. I'd told him we were.

Why was money so pressing? Few reasons actually…Sora has a very high caffeine consumption. That alone wouldn't have sapped what I'd stored but then I found out the art class I'd transferred into also had a weekly fee, for supplies, trips, showings, etc. And damn if it wasn't a lot.

I couldn't transfer out without telling Sora about the money issue. Which would then make him go without the things he wanted. Like hell that was gonna happen. And it would also gain the attention of my teacher…who seems to think I'm her little pet. She'd ask questions, find out about the money issue, raise little red flags and what not.

After all, the only kids who came here were filthy stinking rich. Money was never an issue.

All in all…it was a mess I'd rather do without. Which left me with my third option.

I cringed as the bell rang but left the room anyway, as much as I found myself wanting to stay. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't scared of Mansex. He was a coward through and through, hiding behind that shield of his. But…I still had to listen to him. No matter how much I wanted to ram his head into the wall…repeatedly.

I took a deep breath, hitching my bag higher on my shoulder…screw it. I'll fucking talk to him later. I raced to my room, not intentionally slamming and locking it. I swear. He didn't scare me goddamit! He didn't!

At least…not in the way he thought…


Axel's POV

The door slammed, I jumped, and ended up upside down, my legs still somehow on the bed, my head buzzing from how I'd hit it on the floor.

No, I'm not a spaz. Why do you ask?

When I felt the buzzing in my head recede far enough to the back, I dared to open my eyes. It took me a moment to remember "hell I'm still upside down," so yes it took me a minute to recognize an upside down Roxas.

Who was white man. And he was pretty damn pale to begin with…

"Roxas? Somethin' wrong?" He glanced at me. His face was it's usual calm. It sat weird against the white. His bright blue eyes looked a lot duller than usual too…

I was worried. I'd given in a few days ago that as he was my best friend's possible boyfriend's brother, I had to care somewhat. Right? I mean, where else would the feeling come from? Right?

"Um…no…" He'd taken to avoiding me recently…and when I did get anything out of him it was always a lot more unsure than what I'd become used to in the first days of our acquaintanceship (Whoot! Go big words…).

"Bull. You're white as Cloud. And you locked the door." He glanced back at the door as if hoping to find the door magically unlocked…And of course it wasn't.

"…it's…it's none of your business." Okay, I was still upside down. And I'm pretty sure if I were to look in a mirror, I'd look like a tomato. Prolly not the best position. And now, thinking back, the move I pulled to get out of the position was prolly not the best thing either…

I rolled over on my head, hearing my neck crack as I suddenly found myself getting an eyeful of jeans…I glanced up. Hi Roxy…when'd you get so close? I wasn't aware our room was that tiny.

Anyway…so yeah, there I was, my legs sprawled out in front of me, with Roxas a hell of a lot closer than I remember…and he just stared at me.

If I looked like a tomato before…I must've looked like a goddamn cherry now. Why? Prolly because of that oh so graceful move I executed…which my neck was actually still aching from…

And he still just stared at me.

I glared back, trying to regain at least some sort of dignity. After a moment the stare was creeping me the hell out and I decided the best way to regain any sort of pride would be to actually get off my ass. I turned away, pushing myself up.

That's when I heard it. It was soft, quiet, but slowly gaining in volume…I glanced up with (prolly) wide eyes.

He was laughing.

It was a beautiful sound. Like nothing I'd ever heard (as cheesy as that sounds…). It sounded completely different from the rough, kick-your-ass-ness I'd associated with him. This was…completely and totally happy. So much lighter than anything I'd ever heard from someone.

Did it matter that he was laughing at me?

Not one damn bit.


Roxas' POV

I don't remember the last time I laughed.

But…he looked so idiotic, so completely unlike himself…I couldn't help it. He looked like a ticked off puppy. One who can't help but be unimaginably cute when it's trying to be threatening.

It was the look on his face that made me stop.

He was…I don't even know how to describe it. But the way he was looking up at me…I bolted to the bathroom, my hand over my chest, trying to calm down my heart. As you can probably imagine, it wasn't working…

I glanced over at the mirror (it had been replaced a week and a half ago…). Axel had said I was white. Why then was I seeing red? Oh god-fucking-dammit!!! I did not need this right now!

It took several damn minutes before my heart calmed down, my face lost it's flush, and my breathing slowed (and in the safety of my own mind, never to be repeated there or elsewhere by the way, I kinda wanted those feelings back…even if I didn't know what they were)…

I picked up my phone. I needed an excuse to get out of here. As I needed to talk to him anyway…

"Xemnas? I…need a favor…" Deities strike me down if I stuttered to this bastard… All I heard was his mocking, slow, dark, laugh. I cringed and bit down the urge to destroy yet another piece of glass.

His slight purr, (what kind of man fucking purrs like that?!) grated on my ears. All he said was where he'd be. And to get my ass over there. I snapped the phone shut, only releasing it and shoving it in my pocket when I heard the shell crack.

I opened the door, ignored Axel, who was eyeing me warily (…I'll examine the pull on my heart at that look later…) and slipped out into the hall. I shoved my hands into my pockets and headed for the courtyard outside the dorm where he'd said he'd be.

This was gonna be oh so much fun…

It took all my will to ignore the feeling to look back. I knew Axel'd be at the door. And damn if I didn't want to go back…get back that passing feeling…


Disclaimer: ...Own NOTHING!!!

A/C: SORRY AGAIN FOR SHORTNESS!!! would write more here but i'm sleep deprived as it is...PLEASE REVIEW!!! XD