Title: The Pulse
Author: Riake
Pairing: Axel/Kairi
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Theme: #7 - superstar
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Author Notes: Yet another AU, because I obviously can't get enough of them. :) Enjoy!
He plays guitar and sings in a loud, angry voice.
He's everything. He's popular, hot, and he doesn't have a half-bad voice to boot. At least, in most girls' minds. Kairi has never been particularly fond of screaming in her music.
Far below the stage, she listens to the new superstar of the campus and sighs softly, the sound going unheard in the loud room. People jump and gyrate all around her, and its all she can do not to be separated from Namine.
Namine herself looks a little scared of all the ruckus, but she faithfully stays. Her eyes aren't on Axel, the singer, but on the guitarist, Demyx. She's had an infatuation for him for weeks now, and goes to every concert she can. This is the first time she's managed to drag Kairi with her, and the latter is starting to wish she hadn't come at all.
A headache throbs at her temples to the beat of the drums and the pounding of feet all around her. She licks her lips nervously; she hates this kind of atmosphere, and she doesn't really like this music either.
She leaves before its over, unable to stay a moment longer. There's an alley that runs behind the building, lit by the streetlamp at the corner and the light above the exit. She sits on the step and puts her head in her hands, wishing she could just go home and crawl under the blankets. Namine would be worried about her, though; she needs to stay until the concert is over, at least. That doesn't mean, of course, that she must wait inside.
She doesn't know how long she stays out there. One moment she's alone, and the next thing she knows the door behind her is opening from behind her, pushing her away forcefully, and she falls with a startled cry.
The gravel is rough beneath her hands, but she gives it little thought. Pushing herself up, she glares at whoever opened the door, knocking her from her perch and disturbing the peaceful night.
He wears black leather pants that are too tight with boots and an open red vest that displays a nicely toned chest. The vest matches his hair, spiked heavily with gel (he must go through a fortune), and his eyes are bright-cat-green in the darkness.
He's the superstar of the campus (of the world) and Kairi still wonders how he got such a stupid name as Axel.
He blinks at her, one hand behind his head in a half-motion already stopped. For a minute, there is no movement. They stand, him on the stairs and her far below, staring at each other. Then his eyes flicker, up and down her body, and a grin grows on his face. He leans on the railing, looking down at her with an appreciative look. "Hey there," he says, all silk and smooth and beautiful. Full of himself. Kairi snorts softly and tosses her head. Like she would ever be caught up by such an obvious attempt at flirting. She doesn't appreciate him hitting on her before he even apologizes for making her fall.
When she doesn't say anything, his smile falters a little. He forces it back up quickly, trying to appear as if nothing happened. Kairi allows herself a small smile. Not responding to what most sane girls would deem a hot man is terribly fun.
"Did you enjoy the concert?" he asks. Oh, so now he's trying to get her by using his "superstar" status? It couldn't have worked less.
Because she doesn't like to be rude, Kairi shrugs slightly. "It was okay," she says vaguely, noting with glee the disappointed look in his eyes. A part of her feels bad, insulting what is obviously his pride, so she adds, "It's not really my kind of music." She doesn't say she hates it (or people like him).
He looks curious now more than anything. "Then why did you come?"
She pauses, wondering why she should answer. But his eyes are compelling, and she can practically feel herself heat up under his gaze. To push away her uncomfortableness, she answers. "My friend wanted to."
He laughs lightly. "Then you're not one of my many fans. I'm disappointed."
She can't help but grin. She throws her hair back, meeting his gaze boldly, over her indignation and ready to play. She's always been daring, especially with boys, as long as she knows it won't hurt either of them. If Namine is a mouse, Kairi is a cat, prowling and always grinning, ready to pounce is need be and never afraid to put herself on the battle lines if she feels like it.
"Sorry," she says, tone light and matching his. "You'll just have to get along without me."
He puts a hand on his chest, right over his heart. "You wound me, princess. You've already captured my heart."
She snorts, and he cracks a grin, unable to stay solemn in the face of such an obvious joke.
He lights a cigarette, the small flame glaringly bright in the darkness, and takes a long drag on it. Kairi wrinkles her nose; she's never been fond of smoking.
"You're not like the others, are you?"
His question draws her out of whatever reverie she's fallen into, staring at the flickering bud of flame at the end of the white stick. She blinks, raising her eyes to him, and he's not quite smiling, showing her that playtime is over. She's suddenly reminded that she's alone in an alleyway with a man (musician) she doesn't know and can't trust.
But she doesn't run.
She puts her hands in the pockets of her skirt, head cocked to one side a bit. "What do you mean?"
And he laughs, waving his hand and making the cigarette dance in the darkness. "Nothing, princess. Nothing at all."
It's not nothing, and they both know it.
Her heart is pounding in her chest, from fear or adrenaline (over talking?) or something she doesn't know. It's a pulse, steady in her head and veins and so sweet and hot it's an elixir.
Kairi knows that if she stays much longer she'll drown, be unable to pull herself back out, and she isn't ready to, not yet.
"Well. See ya, superstar." And with that, she turns and gave a wave over her shoulder, meaning to find Namine and get away because she's suddenly afraid of herself.
"Aw, come on!" he says, a whine in his voice and the playful tone back. "That's not fair, you know."
Kairi grins, just barely giving him a look over her shoulder. She can't see well: there's just the flame of him, surrounded by murky blackness and a spotlight above the door that illuminates nothing. "I never said this game was fair."
He's both frowning and laughing. "What's your name, princess?"
And again she pauses, because it's stupid to tell him, stupid to tell a man she doesn't know (and doesn't want to know, but that's a lie right there).
"Kairi."
And then she's gone, disappearing around the corner before he can say anything else. As she heads to the front of the club, where she can see a blonde head that very well may be Namine waiting for her uneasily, she decides that the night wasn't a total bust. At least she got to sharpen her tongue with Axel. She rarely meets someone who can keep up with her so well, and there's a strange, light feeling in her chest that pounds along with her pulse as she half-skips to the doors.
"Jeez, Kairi!" Namine says, exasperation in her voice and worry in her blue-sky eyes. "Where in the world did you run off to?"
Kairi laughs, wrapping an arm through one of Namine's own. "Sorry, sorry. I got distracted. Did you get to meet Demyx?"
Namine goes a faint pink and stutters something about a smile worth a thousand words. Chuckling, Kairi leads her back to their apartment, the brief high the music and repartee brought sizzling down a content buzz low in her stomach.
And as she walks, she realizes one thing.
She is just like all the others, though she hadn't known until a minute ago. And, when Axel has his next concert, she'll be there, no matter that she doesn't like screaming in her music.