For the first time since Larxene could remember, her blouse was buttoned up to her collarbone, her skirt stopped below her knees rather than above, and she could breathe freely without worrying about popping a button. It would have been pleasant and relaxed, but she found that she was much too warm, and she kept tugging at her blouse without realizing it. All in all, she missed her regular clothes, and being so covered up was making her even more irritable than usual.
Even worse, she couldn't force herself to forget what the headmaster had said that night in Luxord's kitchen.
"I know exactly what you have and have not been doing with the students I just named."
So Headmaster Xemnas knew that the so-called scandal hadn't been just rumors, or he was bluffing and pretending to know. Miss Larxene didn't dare to ignore his warning, but she had no desire to stop pursuing Axel, not after all this time. Then again, Xemnas' offer to allow them to pay him to keep quiet wasn't exactly tempting. Anything the headmaster would accept as payment certainly wouldn't be easy to give, and Larxene had kept herself awake at nights trying to figure out what sort of payment he would suggest appropriate for the circumstances.
Just in case, she had decided to stop openly flirting with the senior, and was forcing herself to dress more modestly, though that didn't mean she was finished with him. No, every bone in her body was determined to make Axel hers, and to show that blond brat his place in this school. She just had to find a way to do it without giving Headmaster Xemnas reason to suspect what she was doing.
The combination of having to dress differently and the strain of not having enough sleep had made Larxene short-tempered. Today was not a good day to get on her bad side, and the students in her first hour class had been smart enough to sit quietly through her lecture. As much as she wanted to let her bad mood out on someone, no one had given her the opportunity. But she knew it would happen eventually; all she had to do was wait for an excuse.
Larxene remained at her desk as the students of her second hour class filed into the room and took their seats. She didn't feel up to giving a lecture over calculus, not with how tired she was, but that was easy enough to deal with. Her students weren't going to like it, but she didn't care.
Everything was quiet, the teacher waiting for the bell to ring, the students examining her modest attire with curiosity. She avoided looking at two students in particular, knowing it would only make her mood worse if she paid too much attention to either Axel or Roxas. All she would be able to think about was Xemnas' threat, so she kept her gaze directed towards the clock on the wall.
The ring of the bell echoed through the empty hallways, and Miss Larxene stood. A moment passed as she surveyed the students before her, then she opened one of the desk's drawers and took out a stack of papers.
"Pop quiz," she announced tonelessly, her expression blank and bored.
Several students had to catch themselves and hold back groans. Any reaction to the news of a pop quiz in Miss Larxene's class usually didn't go over very well. This being the case, the students were silent as the blonde woman passed out the papers.
"Any talking will result in a detention. If I think you are cheating and you are unable to prove yourself innocent, you will be given a detention. Complaining will also earn a detention."
That was a little extreme, even for a teacher as strict as Larxene usually was. Clearly, she had no patience that day and was not to be trifled with. Once the quizzes were distributed, she returned to her desk and sat, tugging at her blouse absent-mindedly.
"Your desks should be clear except for the quiz, your pencil, and a calculator. Begin."
Immediately, the silence was replaced by the scratch of pencils, the click of calculator keys, and the shuffle of papers. The students worked quickly, as was expected of them, and Larxene watched them closely from her place at the front of the room. Minutes dragged by, slowly whittling away at the amount of time the teenagers had to work out the equations they'd been given.
It was obvious to Axel that Miss Larxene was genuinely pissed about something. She hadn't looked at him even once, not even when she'd been passing out the quizzes. That, more than the change in her clothes, more than the pop quiz, told him that something was wrong.
Good. Anything that upsets the whore is fine by me.
Grinning ever so slightly, the redhead turned his attention to the quiz he'd been given.
1 : Differentiate:
The quotient rule. Start with the bottom function.
He remembered this from last week and wasted no time in beginning to solve the equation. Even though Miss Larxene hadn't said to, he made sure to show all his work on his quiz. It wouldn't surprise him if the bitch took points off for not showing work despite the lack of instructions.
And the bottom function is squared in the answer.
This was going to be easy. That whore thought she could ruin his day just because she was in a bad mood? Ha! No way in hell was Axel going to let that happen. She'd crossed a line at the Masquerade and he wasn't about to let her think she'd gotten away with it.
The papers shuffled as he turned to the next page and continued working.
Across the room, Roxas focused on his own quiz, his brow furrowed in concentration. He tapped his fingers and chewed the end of his pencil as he thought through each equation. It unnerved him to be in Miss Larxene's class—he couldn't force himself to look the teacher in the eye, not after seeing her kiss Axel. Having class with the woman several times since the dance hadn't done anything to ease his nerves, and he couldn't look Axel in the eye, either. The senior hadn't tried to talk to him since the after party, and Roxas was glad. Still, he occasionally snuck glances at the older boy for no reason in particular. He just had to look sometimes.
Wait, that can't be right.
Sighing because he'd let his mind wander and had written down the wrong answer, the blond reached for his eraser and only managed to knock it off his desk onto the floor. He leaned down to pick up the pink, rubbery lump, and noticed from the corner of his eye that the boy next to him watching him. His fingers wrapped around the eraser and he looked up to find the other boy staring directly at him. There was malice in the boy's eyes, despite the fact that he and Roxas had never spoken to each other or even made eye contact before now.
The boy smirked slightly then looked towards the front of the room. "Miss Larxene, he's cheating off my quiz!"
Roxas froze, blue eyes widening in disbelief.
Every head in the room turned towards the boy who had spoken, including Larxene's. He wore a black hat in addition to his school uniform, blond bits of hair showing by his ears, and his expression radiated the sort of false innocence that no teenager believed but every adult seemed to fall for. Roxas' face turned red as he felt the atmosphere thicken. Miss Larxene rose from her desk and approached the two students as the blond straightened in his seat, his eraser still clutched tightly in his left hand.
"What makes you think Roxas was cheating off of you, Seifer?" Miss Larxene asked, looking down at the two boys imperiously.
"He purposefully dropped his eraser and tried to look at my answers when he leaned over to pick it up."
"That's not true!" Roxas protested, looking up at the teacher with pleading eyes. "I wasn't trying to cheat!"
"Were, too," Seifer shot at him. "I saw you."
"Miss Larxene, he's lying!" She couldn't possibly believe that he'd been trying to cheat, could she? He'd never caused trouble in any of his classes, save for the one time he was caught with a note from Axel, but that hadn't been his fault. "I accidentally knocked my eraser off my desk, but I didn't even look at him until he started staring at me!"
A cold smile curved the blonde woman's lips. This was the opportunity she'd been waiting for, the perfect chance to release some of her foul mood. It was just a bonus that she got to take it out on the kid who was trying to steal her Axel.
"I'm afraid I don't see any motivation for him to lie, Roxas. As I said before, cheating results in a detention, so I expect to see you here directly after classes today. You may finish your quiz, though you will not receive full credit."
Roxas' jaw dropped in astonishment and a small amount of horror. Detention with Larxene? Just thinking about the last time made his back tingle, and he shuddered at the memory; it had taken days for some of the welts to heal, and weeks for the bruises to fade. A large part of him wanted to argue that Seifer was a liar, that he had never and would never cheat, but he couldn't manage to form the words. And he knew that even if he could, he wouldn't have the courage to argue with a teacher, especially Miss Larxene.
He stared at the woman's back as she returned to her desk, speechless and frozen, until he noticed that Seifer was smirking at him, an arrogant sort of victory in his eyes. Roxas turned to look at the older boy and realized as he did that the whole thing had just been a game to get him in trouble. Seifer knew very well that Roxas hadn't been trying to cheat—he'd lied for no other purpose than to see if he could get the younger student in trouble. The knowledge upset Roxas so much that he forgot about his quiz and opened his mouth to accuse Seifer of lying, but someone else beat him to it.
"No."
The word seemed to stop everything for a moment. Miss Larxene had paused, only a step or two away from her desk, her spine stiff. Slowly, she turned, her gaze deadly.
"Who said that?" she asked, looking from face to face.
To her surprise, and even more so to Roxas', Axel stood from his desk, his quiz abandoned. "I did."
Larxene's eyes narrowed slightly. "You, Axel?"
"Yes."
"Did you have a question about the quiz?"
"No, I understand the quiz perfectly fine."
"Ah, then you must have some other good reason to disrupt my class."
"If you mean arguing against the detention you just gave Roxas, then yes, I have a very good reason for interrupting you."
The mention of his name made Roxas slide down in his chair. What on earth was Axel doing?!
Frowning slightly, Larxene blinked and tilted her head as if she hadn't heard correctly. "I'm sorry, what?"
"You heard me, Miss Larxene." Somehow, the title that was meant to command respect was transformed into an insult just by the redhead's tone.
"No, Axel, I'm afraid I misheard you. I thought you said you were going to ignore the rules of my classroom and argue with me."
The senior squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. "Damn right I am."
A collective gasp went around the room at his use of the word. Kingdom High Boarding School had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to the use of profanity in classrooms or while speaking to a teacher. Axel could get in serious trouble for that one word, but the redhead didn't seem to care at all.
Miss Larxene's ears were turning red. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"Did I stutter, Miss Larxene?" Axel's tone was deceptively polite. "I said I'm not going to follow your rules. Your rules are shit. The only thing they're good for is letting you treat us like trash that should worship the ground you walk on, but I'm not going to take it anymore. You know as well as I do that Roxas would never cheat and that Seifer is lying."
The teacher's frown deepened. "I don't know that for sure, and neither do you. If Seifer says Roxas was cheating and there is no evidence to the contrary, then I have to go with the information I have. Now, sit down and be quiet for the remainder of class."
Axel glared at the teacher, folding his arms tightly across his chest to hide the shaking in his hands. "I do know it, Miss Larxene, and you don't have any evidence that Roxas was cheating. You're just pissy and taking it out on Roxas because Seifer gave you an excuse."
"That," Larxene hissed, "is a detention, Axel. Today after class. Sit down and finish your quiz before you make things worse for yourself."
The redhead smirked, pleased that he'd managed to upset the teacher as much as he had. "No."
"Two detentions," the blonde said quietly, her shoulders tensinge; Axel's smirk widened into a grin.
"Please, sir, may I have another?"
Fury began to roll off the teacher in waves. How dare he?! How dare that impudent brat of a student challenge her in her own class, and call her sir! She was going to make him pay, and she was going to make Roxas suffer, as well. That stupid kid was the only reason Axel was behaving the way he was, and she wasn't going to let him off easy.
"Sit down, Axel, or I'll give you a full month's worth of detentions!"
They glared at each other, both angry and too stubborn to give in. All eyes were on the rebellious student and the teacher, waiting for either to make the next move and eager to see what would happen next.
"Go ahead." His calm tone offered a challenge for everyone to hear—there was no mistaking that he didn't care how much trouble he got in.
Larxene pointed at the door, her entire body trembling. "Out! I'll not have you insult me and disrupt my class! Go to the office and report to Headmaster Xemnas this instant!"
Stunned silence followed her words. With bated breath, Roxas and Axel's classmates waited for the senior's response. His movements stiff, the redhead packed his belongings into his bag and made his way towards the door. Just before he left the room, he looked back, directly into Roxas' astonished blue eyes, and winked. Then he was gone, off to the headmaster to receive his punishment.
Huffing angrily, Larxene swept back to her desk then whirled around to glare at her motionless students. Two dozen pairs of eyes stared at her, only making her even angrier.
"Well? Get back to work!"
They hurried to obey and she resumed her seat, fuming.
Nothing like that had ever happened before, and no one quite knew what to think. Certainly, they had a strange kind of respect for their brave classmate, but they also thought he was insane for getting himself sent to the headmaster. Roxas, in particular, was having a hard time wrapping his mind around what had just happened.
Did he really get himself a month of detentions and a trip to Headmaster Xemnas, just for me? Is he still trying to get on my good side?
He was grateful to Axel for standing up for him the way he had, but he was still confused. After all, he'd seen the redhead and teacher kiss, and all he'd ever gotten from Axel were mixed signals that made it impossible for him to know for sure if the senior wanted to be friends or something more. Now, it seemed like Axel was demonstrating how determined he was to prove himself, and Roxas didn't know what to think.
It could be that Axel was nothing more than a con man and was just trying to trick Roxas into believing that he was a good person in order to get what he wanted. Or maybe he really did mean what he'd said about Larxene, and maybe he'd meant it when he told Roxas that he wanted to get to know him. Maybe he should have listened to what Axel had to say at the after party. Maybe. Why did there have to be so many maybe's?
The entire situation was frustrating beyond belief, and there was nothing he could do about it. Not yet, at least. But there was always after classes, when he had detention. As much as he hated the idea of a second detention with Larxene, especially when he hadn't done anything wrong, he was glad to know that Axel would be there, too. The teacher couldn't do anything too terrible to him if the senior was there to witness it, and he had the feeling that Axel would defend him all over again if he had to.
That was something, at least.
XXX
With his hands in his pockets, Axel made his way through the building to where the offices were. He was whistling, the sound unusually loud in the otherwise empty hallway. Anyone who saw him would never guess that he was on his way to see Headmaster Xemnas. In his mind, Axel knew he should be at least somewhat nervous about seeing the headmaster, but he couldn't help but feel fantastic.
Finally, he'd done it. He'd been waiting for a chance like that since homecoming, and he couldn't just let it pass without doing something. Besides, he'd meant every word he'd said to Miss Larxene and wasn't sorry in the slightest. Roxas was a good student and Axel knew without a doubt that the blond would never cheat. He also knew that Seifer had a reputation for getting other kids in trouble; it was just Roxas' bad luck that he'd become a victim of the older boy. Still, he was proud of himself for showing Roxas that he wasn't just some jerk looking to play with him and throw him away when he was done. Roxas was more important than that.
Axel stopped when he reached the door to the main office. Headmaster Xemnas' office was in there, but he couldn't bring himself to go. He'd never been sent to the headmaster for getting in trouble like this, but he'd heard enough rumors for a small trace of fear to enter his thoughts. Some of the rumors seemed impossible, but after everything he'd gone through with Miss Larxene over the last few years, and what Zexion had recently told him about Marluxia, he didn't put it past Xemnas to be just as twisted as his teachers.
Seriously, what is up with this school? Most of the kids here have rich parents. I'd have thought the teachers would all be a lot more professional than they are.
Well, there was nothing else for it. He had to go see the headmaster. Miss Larxene was sure to have contacted Xemnas and let him know that Axel was coming, so if he didn't show up, he'd get in even more trouble. He might get suspended or even expelled, and then he'd probably never see Roxas again. That didn't change the fact that he really didn't want to go into that office, but he stiffened his spine. He'd stood up for Roxas and faced Larxene. If this was the price he had to pay, then so be it.