xDelfin

Wednesday

11.

Roxas stood in his foyer, two feet away from the front door. It was 2:35. School would be letting out in ten minutes. Should he go? Or should he stay? He was feeling better today. He woke up an hour or so ago, and he felt a little dizzy; But other than that, no piercing headaches or the need to trot back and forth to the bathroom to throw up.

Cloud would be home in three hours from work. He could make it back before then, if he wanted to. Or he could openly defy the old man altogether and stay out for as long as there were exciting things to do elsewhere. It really didn't matter to him.

Sora had 'work' as he did every other day, adhering to the day one/day two schedule of their non-semester school. Leon would pick him up at around 9:30 from the library, near the co-op placement, where Sora did homework for three hours.

For now, Roxas had the house to himself, whether he'd want to leave it or not. Going outside today was such an enticing opportunity. It was the fourth week in which he had missed school, not that he was worried about anything. It was more Cloud, yakking his ear off about it, even though Roxas knew nothing was happening while he was away.

That was the way his school ran. If Roxas had been attending classes, he would still be learning nothing, but forced to do work that practiced skills he already had and learned years before. There wasn't much learning done in school, rather than 'practicing and drilling', as Roxas liked to describe it.

For example, on the one day Roxas went, the English teacher made the class use twenty five vocabulary words in an original sentence for an entire period. Roxas had finished in half an hour and dreamt about sleeping in his own bed for the other forty-five minutes left of the class.

So, here Roxas stood, between the stifling confines of his household and the open, airy emancipation.

Axel is there.

And Roxas stepped out the door.

The sounds of dribbling, scratching of loose gravel, and the shaking of the backboard and hoop, filled the burnt-orange court. It was a run-down sort of place that hadn't seemingly been cared for in years. The chalk was faded, the hoops were bare of their nets and were more oxide than iron.

That didn't stop the lively group of seniors to make it their prized after-school hang out. It was behind their school, which implied partial seclusion. It faced the west, so when they played until dusk, no shadows loomed over the fun. Also, it was next to the parking lot, meaning easy access to their cars.

Many others coveted this particular spot, but none dared to defy the basketball captain, the soccer captain, the bitchiest cheerleader, the neurotic debate team captain and the other renowned upperclassmen. Unbeknownst to Roxas, to be allowed into the court meant more than an outsider would think. But for someone so socially challenged as Roxas, an outsider he is.

The entire court was surrounded by a ten-foot tall cage. Inside was a row of benches, chipping at the parts meant to hold them together. Roxas noted the dilapidation of the court with astonishment. This was their hangout? Roxas didn't believe much in teen royalty, but he expected the jock heroes of the school to have a better practice arena.

Inside the abode, were eight people; some interacting with each other, most in their own worlds. In the centre of the court, Roxas saw Riku, Demyx, and Xigbar playing basketball against Axel, Marluxia, and Lexaeus.

Out on the shabby bleachers, Zexion was reading, as usual; and not far from him Xion too was immersed in some sort of reading material. She tilted he large book up a smidge to reveal the words 'World Religions.' Did that girl ever stop studying?

Somewhere on the other side of the fence, Larxene was reclined and, if one can believe, was napping! Roxas was slightly unnerved at the sight. When you meet someone like Larxene, (even for the small amount of time Roxas has) you would not be surprised if the woman didn't sleep. And yet there she was, looking as peaceful as any normal human being. Roxas decided that this was just a ruse and that her guard was not completely down.

He leant on the side of the cage archway taking in the scene before him. Axel was dribbling the ball in place, his left arm out to block Riku's cover. He saw Marluxia from the corner of his eye, waving to be passed the ball. Just as he was about to lob the ball over Riku's left shoulder, Xigbar came in from Axel's right and stole the ball from under him.

Before Roxas could register this, the eye-patched man had already made his way to the end of the court and made a lay-up for winning points. "Ha! Nice one, Xiggy." Riku high fived the tall man with the ponytail then looked back at the redhead. "This proves my theory, that Axel has no peripherals!"

"Are you stupid?" Axel laughed. "Of course I have peripherals! I wouldn't be playing b-ball for this long if I hadn't. It's this damn hair…" He grumbled while fetching his school bag for water.

"Ahem?" Xigbar cocked an eyebrow, meaning he was about to state the obvious. "Hair ties aren't just for chicks, y'know."

"Well duh. But the last time I tied my hair back in public, all these stiffs in suits kept looking at me like I just dumped Tide in their coke." Axel shook his head. "It's dangerous to even look like my bro."

Axel had a brother? Roxas made a mental note to learn more about the man.

"I'm TIRED!" Demyx all but collapsed onto the rickety mini-bleachers, an arm draped over his eyes to block out the fierce sunlight. Beside him sat Zexion, thoroughly immersed in yet another novel. He glanced sideways at the blond who was then dramatically fanning himself.

Riku cocked an eyebrow at the claim. "What do you mean, you're 'tired'? You barely played all day!"

"What are you talking about?" He cried indignantly, while propping himself up on his elbows. "I played hard!"

Riku crossed his arms. "You were standing around for the past fifteen minutes."

Demyx made a 'psh' sound as if telling someone who's never played basketball. "It's caaalled getting open."

"Axel had the ball." Riku stated as a matter of fact-ly.

"So?" He asked innocently.

"You were on my team…?" He stared at the silveret blankly. A snicker from behind Zexion's novel confirmed that this in fact was true. His mouth made an 'o' shape then gave an apologetic smile towards Riku, who just shook his head.

Roxas watched from the outskirts of the court as Riku cooled off in the center of the court, stretching his arms behind his head and bending his knees up in a relaxed manner. A few feet away, Marluxia was sitting cross-legged in front of his bag, an assortment of hairbrushes at his disposal. His girlfriend, Larxene, scrutinized him with one eye, in a sort of 'what the fuck do you need all of that shit for?' Marluxia seemed to have disturbed her from her after-school nap.

Xigbar too, was in the process of grooming. Was there a fashion thing nowadays? Long hair is in? Not that Roxas really paid any attention to what was in. His wardrobe consisted of selected hand-me-downs and gifts. And both his and Sora's hair have been defying gravity ever since they've had hair!

Roxas was pulled out of his thoughts of the last time he went shopping, by a most entrancing sight.

Axel.

YHS

xDelfin