How I Paid for College

Summary: All Demyx wanted was to go to Juilliard. But when his father refuses to pay the tuition, Demyx finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of minimum wage, fraud, and thievery. On top of that, he has to come to terms with the fact that he may be in love with his best friend, Zexion. This is going to be one interesting summer.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to SquareEnix. Seriously. Everything. Inspiration from Marc Acito, who wrote the book by the same title. (If you read this fic and hate it, go read the book. It's better. If you've read the book and hated it, you're weird. Go read the book, you fool.) Please note that my fic isn't a direct "to KH" translation of said novel.

Demyx's lines are from Johnny Meumonic.

Surgeon General's Warning is ©Dualism.

I was dreaming when I wrote this/ So sue me if I go too fast

Dedication: For Dualism, of course! And for the amazingly wonderful Beatrisu!

Opening Notes: No. I will never get tired of Ryan O'Donohue jokes. It is D-day, fools! Expect updates for Conventional, 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, and the first chapters of Rules of Play and The Storm and The Stress later on! I'll be on messenger all day, so drop me a line and some virtual chocolate.

Congratulations to Beatrisu, the winner of my Ansem Retort Challenge!

And now! The winning entry!

Axel: Sora, what the hell are you doing?
Sora: I'm trying to see if this thing will fit.
Axel: That quite clearly WON'T fit, it's too BIG.
Sora: sigh No, it's just a matter of squeezing.
Axel: Oh, I see. And just why are you trying to squeeze a pineapple into a keyhole?
Sora: Because I want to see how Ansem reacts.
Axel: Bad idea. Run. NOW!

I chose this one over all the others because it leaves much to the imagination as you begin to read. I can't put pictures on these chapters – which is a shame – so I try to choose bits from Ansem Retort that don't require much visual. And of course, the pineapple won me over.

On to ze drama!

Started: March 16, 2007

Finished: April 9, 2007

Part Fourteen: Stage

I was in too much of a hurry to admire everything around me. Zexion had abandoned the bike somewhere outside, leaving it to be discovered by the security guard we'd crossed, and dragged me into the auditioning hall. I was nervous as heck. Not only because I'd only been preparing for this moment for my entire life – okay, not my entire life, but at least since I knew I wanted to come to Juilliard – but also because Zexion's wallet had been stolen, we'd stolen a bike, Pence was probably right, and I was exactly twenty seven seconds late.

I know what you're thinking: Don't be so dramatic, Demyx!

But you're forgetting where I am and what my passion is. Besides, the lady sitting at the check in desk looks nothing short of extremely pissed that Zexion has pushed our way to the front of the line.

"Ryan O'Donohue?" she asked, looking from me to her list.

"Demyx Suzumura," I said quickly, handing over my audition card.

"You're late," she said, looking at me like the guy who probably stood her up on their first date.

"Uh… yeah. Sorry. Got lost."

"You're late. No audition."

I felt the world crash around me. Then Zexion pushed me aside and leaned over the desk and spoke.

"You can't do that to him. He's not even late by a minute."

"Not by my watch," the woman said, unflinching.

"Fuck your watch," Zexion muttered. "He's here and he's ready. Let him through."

There was a long moment of silence in which the entire line anxiously watched.

She stamped my pass and checked my name off.

"Dem!"

I whirled around and spotted Larxene running up the hallway. I waved.

"Break a leg, little bro, my Romeo!' she cried.

Zexion gave me a quick kiss on the check and pushed me toward the stage door, whispering, "I love you."

The last thing I saw as the door swung closed behind me was my sister and my best friend – my boyfriend – standing there, side by side, smiling at me. I felt suddenly very small in my new sweater, and Zexion's kiss tingled on my cheek. I walked forward out of the wings and gave an entrance bow.

"Ryan O'Donohue?" a voice asked. I squinted into the audience and spotted four judges.

"Demyx Suzumura," I corrected.

"What will you be reciting?"

"Alex's dialogue from Surgeon General's Warning, Act III, Scene i," I said, voice shaking.

There was a sort of muddled murmur. I couldn't tell if it was approval or something else, but I started in after a brief pause. It was going well until started in toward the middle, and I started losing it in the blinding light. I felt dizzy and hoped to Buddha that I wasn't about to faint on stage. I felt my energy waning and knew with dread that I wasn't putting as much anger into the words as I should have been.

"… I want… I want…" I was stuck on that line. I want… I want my dad to be proud of me again. I want a nice stepmother. I want Riku and Sora together and Axel and Roxas together. I want…

"…I want…" I was feeling dizzy and hot now, and suddenly all the anger and rage boiled up and out of me.

"I… I've had it with them, I've had it with you, I've had it with ALL THIS - I want ROOM SERVICE! I want the club sandwich, I want the cold Mexican beer, I want a $10,000-a-night hooker! I want my shirts laundered... like they do... at the Imperial Hotel... in Tokyo."

Silence.

If only the stage would swallow me up. I went from Surgeon General's Warning to Johnny Meumonic. Yeah. My acting career was over.

"…Thank you," one of the judges said. There was another murmur, but I chose this moment to leave the stage, mortified.

I was not a moping angsty emo. While Demyx was busy reciting his lines and Pence was setting up that scholarship on his website (I gave $50, for the record) and everything else was going on, Kairi was nagging at me to quit being such a wuss and I was tuning her out and making plans of my own.

Sora and I had a secret place in Gallagher-Osmet City Park, a sort of cave that we found one day while we were playing soccer with a bunch of our friends. Every now and then we went to go spend time there, once spending the night there when Sora's mom was out of town with Roxas. That's where I started. With a sharpened rock I carefully began scratch carving vines and flowers and stars into the stone. It took hours and days, and finally, I painstakingly carved an R, then I-K-U, then under that A-N-D, then under that S-O-R-A, and finally F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

I sat down on the cool earth ground, leaning against the wall, and waited.

Demyx was in the city, auditioning for Juilliard, and I was sitting at home, nervous for him. Kairi had called me earlier, and we had a long talk about Riku. I was feeling more and more depressed lately because he didn't want to talk to me, and he didn't seem well, either. He was paler than usual, as though he hadn't been eating, and he seemed weak, as though he hadn't been getting any rest. He even had a few cuts on his hands.

I loved him. So much. And all I wanted was for him to speak to me again. I really didn't care f he didn't love me back. I just wanted to see him as himself again.

"Sora?"

I looked up from my history book to see Roxas in the doorway.

"I thought you were going to the park with Axel and Pluto."

"In a minute. I had to give you something first." He pulled something out from behind his back. It was a carambola, cut artfully in half. I took it carefully. Carambola were my favorite fruit. When I was little, mom told me a story about two lovers who twined their destinies together by sharing one.

Roxas grinned.

"Riku told me to give it to you."

I felt my heart jump. "Riku."

"He ate the other half," Roxas explained. "And he's waiting in your 'secret place'."

I smiled, taking a bite of the fruit and savoring the sweet taste running down my throat.

"I'm coming with you to the park," I said.

As soon as we got to the park and Axel showed up, Sora hugged me and ran off in search of Riku. I patted Pluto's head, muttering, "Finally."

Axel laughed and handed me a Frisbee. He'd promised to teach me to throw it today, knowing that Pluto would enjoy it.

"Curl your arm in," he instructed, standing behind me and holding my wrist. I leaned back against him. "Then whip it out and release…"

I felt the disk sail from my fingers and heard it briefly zip through the air. Pluto barked and made a fuss, then came back to me, holding it in his mouth. I wiped the drool off in the grass and tried on my own, but it landed with a weird plastic thump only a few feet away. Axel adjusted my arm and helped me a few more times, and then I could do it alone.

Pluto barked happily and I heard his tail swishing rapidly to and fro. I laughed and threw the Frisbee.

"You little punk!" a woman screamed, and I realized that I'd hit her by accident.

"Sorry, Ma'am," I said, patting Pluto's head.

"That was very rude of you!" she snarled. I felt Axel's hands settle on my shoulders.

"He didn't mean it, Ma'am," he assured her.

"He did it on purpose," she insisted.

"It was an accident," Axel retorted. "Roxas wouldn't hurt someone on purpose. He and Pluto were just playing. And he didn't notice you crossing his path."

"He was looking right at me!' the woman screeched.

"I'm BLIND!" I shouted at last, tearing away from Axel and running away.

"Roxas!"

I ignored Axel and kept running, stumbling over a rock and rolling into the dirt. Pluto ran to me and began licking my face until I shoved him off.

"Roxas…"

Axel's arms were around me, and then I was standing again, his fingers running through my hair and dusting my clothes off.

"It's okay," he said softly.

I shook my head. "No… it's not. No matter what I do, I'm always going to be blind… handicapped. It isn't fair."

He sighed, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"No. It isn't. You're such a wonderful person, Roxas. You have a big heart. It isn't fair. But… we can't change it."

"I hate myself," I said quietly, vehemently.

"Don't you dare say that," he whispered. "You… you've got these…" his fingertips brushed my ears, "And you hear the subtle things that no one else knows about. You've got this…" a gentle tap on my nose, "To smell the roses." He laughed. "You've got these," he took my hands. "To feel… to make things… and you've got this…" I felt numb fire spread all over me at the bare touch of his thumb light over my bottom lip. "This…"

"Axel?"

"Don't blink, Roxas," he said. "You're looking right at me."

It seemed like an eternity, just standing there.

"Axel."

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to kiss me, or what?"

He laughed and tilted my chin upward, meeting my lips with his own.

-The Writer

Special Thanks to Beatrisu for her winning entry and for spotting my typos! Remember, send me chocolate!

Oh, and if you have a minute - and if have a place saved on your memory card where you're still Roxas in Twilight Town - go wander around the Back Alley a bit. I only noticed it the other day, but there are empty bottles of booze and marijuana plants everywhere!