The next morning, I sprung out of bed as soon as possible. The alarm clock still hadn't went off, but the sun was shining in my eyes and practically blinded me. I always hated that. It was something I wanted to wake up to the least. It didn't matter now, because all I wanted to do was get ready so I could leave the house right when Axel came today. That was if he was coming. He was so unpredictable. One second he's be all dead set about going, and the next he'd be wandering around with something else on his mind. There was definitely something wrong with that guy.

Regardless of that, I decided to get ready anyway. At least I wasn't alone yet. It was a good feeling to know I've been accepted even it was by Axel's crowd. I knew everyone didn't except me, especially Riku. I didn't care, though. I wasn't planning on becoming best buddies with Riku or anything. Weren't him and Sora best of friends already? I guess it wasn't my place to conclude that.

I went over to my closet and pulled out clothes at the speed of light. Within moments I was dressed, socks and all. I was surprised at myself. I never realised that I could be this fast. If I only I could put all of this built up energy into something else... like actually standing up for myself for once. Then, maybe I could finally say 'no' to people, including my mom. She was the most controlling person I knew, and held me down with chains like most moms did. I understood she was trying to 'protect' me and all, but all it really did was make me even more oblivious and ignorant to the world than I already was. It was pitiful to see a kid even like Helmer who was my age know more about life on the streets. of course, I knew alot more than my brother. He knew barely anything.

I crept down the hall towards the bathroom, making sure not to wake anybody up. I looked behind me, and saw Sora's bedroom door wide open. I was relieved to see him curled in a ball, hugging his pillows snoring. LOUD. He sounded like a lion that was let loose into the wild. Not like his hair didn't already give that impression. Mine was at least kept neat, and didn't practically kill people. I wouldn't be surprised if someone ever tried to swing him around by his ankles to try to use as a weapon. Right now, his hair looked funny since it wasn't spiked up. It was pretty long and almost went past his chin. I hadn't seen him without his spikes in a long while so it was weird seeing them now. It was about time I put my hair in spikes myself.

I went back inside the bathroom, closing the door shut behind. I locked it just it case. I never knew when my mom was gonna get up. If she did, it would be harder to sneak around without Sora waking up. I searched under the sink, and almost jumped for joy as I found five bottles of fresh new hair gel and an extra bottle of Bed Head for Sora. It was about time! I grabbed the bottle and began globbing massive amounts of hair gel into my hand. I lathered it all through my hair, enjoying every moment of it. To be honest, I think I had some kind of weird hair gel fetish... I could never get enough of it. I think the first time I actually used hair gel was in the 4th grade. Sora had 'naturally' spiky hair when he was a kid, but that was if he kept it short. His hair then eventually got too long for him, so he had to start putting gel in it. The only problem was, he used more freaken gel in one day than most people used in their whole lives.

I stared in the mirror, sighing deeply. I was in love with my hair. Today, it was styled just the way I liked it. It was perfect... When I finished obsessing over my hair in the mirror, I crept down the hall again towards the stairs. As I went down, they squeaked this way and that. I hated this house. Everything was always so loud. I went into the kitchen, and ate a nice bowl of Captain Crunch. I didn't care how old I was. Captain Crunch was always the best cereal. I'd probably be eating it until I was 80 years old, unless I had diabetes or something.

After I was done, I heard the distant sound of slow footsteps coming down the stairs. Crap. I quickly ran to the bathroom, which had a perfect view of the steps. It was my mom, who had dark bags under her eyes. It looked like she didn't get a good night's sleep... I didn't want to create any suspicion, so I flushed the toilet casually and used the sink to act like I was doing something. I came out, and found her in the kitchen drinking some kind of coffee or tea. She was sitting at the small table against that wall where we usually ate. "You're up early." She grunted tiredly. "Yeah... I wanted to get to school extra early." She paused for a moment, taking a sip of her coffee/tea thing. "Who said? I can't just run around driving you." I felt a feeling of annoyance sweep over me. "I was going to walk. That's if it's okay with you."

She now took a newspaper from the clutter of papers on the table. "Yeah, it's fine. As long as you walk with your brother." At that moment, I almost burst out laughing. I managed to hold it in, though. "Nah, I was thinking of walking with that kid you met yesterday. Axel. You know." She didn't say anything, but continued to read the paper. "Fine." She simply said. I was completely relieved. "Anyway, I'm not going to be home this afternoon, I'll be back around 7. I'm working overtime. Here's your key." She handed me a small keychain, and I quickly shoved it into my pockets.

I started to walk away, but then mom motioned for me to return. I came back obediently, tapping my foot impatiently. "Hold on, I'm not done yet." She seemed more awake now, but her bags were still there. "I'm giving Sora a key, too. Make sure you stay safe walking to school and remember everything I've told you. You better be home before I am, otherwise you're dead. Understand?" I nodded. She frowned, meaning only one thing. "Yes, mom. I understand completely." I said monotonously. I knew she wouldn't have let me left if I refused to say it... she had total control over me. And I couldn't even stand up for myself. I had too much respect for the woman, no matter how crazy her parenting was.

I walked into the hall by the front doors, picked up my bookbag, and swung it over my shoulder like I always did. As I reached for the doorknob... DIINNNGG-DOOONNG. Someone rang the doorbell, and my spirits rose. I was surprised he actually showed up! I looked through the small eye hole in the door, and was shocked to see Demyx instead. Where in the hell was Axel? Why was this idiot here instead? I left the house quickly, and shut the layers of doors behind.

I looked up at Demyx and inhaled deeply. "I thought Axel was coming." I said. He shrugged. "Hey, man. He sent me here to get you. I think he's with Saix." I rolled my eyes. I got up early and everything for Axel, but instead he ditched me for drugs? "Nah, it's not what you think!" He said suddenly, as if he could read my mind. "Saix's got something important for him, so he's sorry and all, man." He apologized. That was the one word I needed to hear. Immediately, I felt myself calm down. "Okay, let's go... to wherever we're going." I suggested. "Oh yeah, we're going to Apple Street. It's right by the school."

I had to admit, it wasn't that bad being with Demyx. At least it wasn't a total waste of a morning. We started to walk, and began talking about hair. I didn't know how he got his the way it was - it looked like it took hours to do. "All it takes is the right type of gel and a little wax." He said proudly. "Axel doesn't use any gel in his hair, he uses a blow drier. I refuse to use that on my hair, man. It might dry it up." Wow. Before now, I didn't think many guys actually payed attention to their hair like I did. Here I was, talking about it with someone who probably cared for their hair more than I did. "Yeah, I can imagine what Axel does to his hair." I said, sighing. "Mine's pretty easy to take care of, since it's pretty short. Now my brother... sometimes he has to use hair clips or pins to keep certain parts of his hair down."

Demyx nodded. "Yeah, same for me, man. I wouldn't want to have your brother's hair. It looks too hard to take care of. Way too hard." We continued on about hair long through the walk to this so called 'Apple Street.' "So. What exactly does this Saix have of Axels?" I asked. Demyx looked puzzled. "I don't know, man. Must be really important if he didn't walk with you. I'm surprised he didn't tell me. We used to be best friends and all, probably since the fifth grade. That all changed until he found his new friend. Pot. Hell, we used to be more than friends." He said sadly.

"More than friends?" I asked bluntly. Demyx looked a bit surprised. "Dude. Axel never told you? We had a little something going on last year. He didn't tell you that? I thought everybody knew." I stared at him, my eyes wide. "No… he never told me that. I didn't think he was gay… maybe a little twisted, but not gay…" Demyx cracked up a little. "Nah, he's not gay. He just likes whoever he likes, he can't help it. But it really disappointed alot of chicks, you know, that he's now into guys. He had about twelve girlfriends, even went all the way with four, but he never felt anything for them. It was more for his reputation. And my man Axel has a huge ego, if you know what I mean." I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant.

"You guys talk and all after breaking up?" I asked. He nodded silently. "Check this out." He pulled up his dark sleeve, revealing a whole lot of cut marks. "This is what I do to myself, man. See the stress he puts me through? I really miss him a lot." I should've known… this guy was hardcore emo. I didn't even know if I wanted to talk to Demyx anymore, certainly not about Axel. I suddenly found myself getting a little flustered. How could Axel just let this happen to his best friend? "Wow. That's messed up. You shouldn't have to go through this just because of a guy. What an idiot." I said coldly.

Demyx flinched a little. "Hey, man calm down. No need to get all violent about it. Yeah, he knows. He just doesn't care anymore. For now, we're just kinda… spending a little time apart. Just do me favor, will ya?" I looked up at him. "What favor?" His face looked a little nervous, as if he needed courage to ask me this question. I wasn't gonna kill him or anything… holy damn. "Awe, c'mon don't get angry. Just make sure you're careful around Axel. Don't get too close, otherwise you'll be really sorry. He's a whole different person when he cares for you. Kinda… grouchy."

"Yeah, yeah." I replied. "It's not a problem. I'm one hundred percent straight, I'm pretty sure of it. I already told him I liked a chick anyway." Demyx snickered quietly under his breath. "Yeah, that Namine chick, right?" Axel blabbed? Oh hell no! "What? I can't believe he blabbed that! I'm gonna kick his ass!" This just made Demyx laugh even harder. "Heh, he'd probably like that. He's a masochist, that Axel!" I felt myself grow furious, and I now pouted like a five year old who didn't get their own way. "Awe, common man. He just told me. It kinda slipped out, he didn't mean it." He said, poking my nose. I flinched and become even angrier. "Heh. You're cute when you get all pouty. Axel was right."

I hit the back of Demyx's head. He shrieked like a little sissy. "Eeeek! Watch the hair, man!" Then, like magic, he took out a comb and started to fix his hair. What a weirdo! "Whatever… " I snapped. We were almost at school anyway, it didn't matter to me. We continued onward, and I of course still had an attitude. I ran into Helmer, Olette, and Pence, but I just gave a small wave. Demyx gave them all dirty looks. It didn't look like the two groups got along too well. I even caught Olette whispering a couple of times to Helmer and looking at me up and down with a look of shame. Whatever. If they couldn't except me for who I was, they weren't real friends. I didn't need anyone who was fake.

As we neared the school, Demyx pulled me to weird side road. "We gotta go meet up with Axel." He told me, taking me on this wild detour. I looked up and finally spotted a street that read 'Apple Street'. We walked on a trashy looking street full of goth kids and adults. So this was the Smoker's Corner of this town. We kept on walking by house after house. I studied each one carefully, as they all seemed to look alike but were different colors. Most of them had chipped paint and dirty windows. The street we were walking on needed a good paving, since I almost tripped and died about five times.

"Okay, he said to meet him here." Demyx explained. We stood on a corner of the street, leaning on a telephone poll. "Hey." Demyx whispered to me. "I could climb this thing if you gave me five bucks." I smirked and shook my head. "Yeah right! I'm not giving you anything." Demyx hung his head. "Ah common, man. You're no fun. I really could do it. Dead ass." I shook my head, frowning. Where was Axel? This kid could get annoying, even more so than Axel. At least Axel didn't beg me for money.

"Oh, look. There he is!" Demyx finally said. I looked over in the distance. Indeed, it was Axel and he waved as he held a bag in his hand. Today he wore a long black trench coat. It looked realy cool... I wanted one. I still leaned against the poll, thinking of all the things Demyx told me. "Heeey Demyx." They both high-fived, and then walked over to me. "Roxassss, Buddy. Long time, no see? 8 hours is just too long to be apart." Axel said, smirking. "Hey." I said weakly. "So whatcha leave me for?" I said, getting straight to the point. "Saix had this trench coat I'm wearing now. He borrowed it yesterday, and I needed it back. This is my wife! Seriously, if it were real I'd get married to it." I stared at the jacket, wide-eyed. It was pretty cool with all of its chains and cool pockets.

"Whoa, Roxas. Quit eating my jacket with your eyes. I know it's sexy, but holy shit." I snapped out of it, and looked towards the ground embarrassed. "Here's what you wanted, Demyx." Axel said, throwing him the bag. He looked inside, but I still didn't know what was in there. "Sweet! Thanks, man." Sure, just leave poor Roxas out... "Hey, Roxas. When are you going to get with Namine?" Axel asked out of nowhere. I now felt my blood boil. "What the hell?" I began. "Don't just shout it around like it's nothing! You might as well tell the whole world." Axel and Demyx both snickered identically. "Don't worry, Roxas. Only me and Demyx know. Oh yeah, and that kid over there. I think he over heard it. But that's all!" I rolled my eyes. "That's all? I highly doubt that." Axel patted my shoulder reassuringly. "Relax. I'm sure nobody else knows."

"Mhhmm." I replied, unconvinced. Hey, what's in the bag?" I asked. "None of your business, man." Demyx said, half teasing. I guess it really wasn't my business, but that just upped my curiosity. What was in it? Spray paint? Glue? This was probably going to be on my mind for the whole week. "Roxas, where's your brother?" Asked Axel. I shrugged. "I dunno, I just kinda left without him. He wasn't even up when I left." Axel was now pacing back and forth, apparently in thought. "Okay. Make sure he doesn't know where you are." I looked up at him uncertain of what he was talking about. "You're coming with us to my house." he continued. "We're not going to school today. Riku said if you showed your face at school, he'd whoop you. I dunno why, but he's got some major beef with ya, pal. Really, I don't feel like fighting today and getting suspended. Do you?" I immediately felt my heart sink way down into my chest. I didn't even feel like answering him. I slowly shook my head 'no'.

"Well, come on. My dad isn't home and we can all hang out. We're gonna have a fun-filled day, I guarantee it. Just don't worry about him" Axel said sympathetically. I nodded, still in shock. I followed behind Axel and Demyx like a lost puppy. The two were now taking me on yet another detour through all of these streets I had never seen in all of my time living in this town. All I could think about was one thing: Another day of school went down the toilet. I couldn't do this anymore, no matter who was going to beat me up. At least I'd have Axel - he'd defend me. Or at least I hoped.

"You okay back there?" Said Axel, finally. Him and Demyx were too busy having deep phylisophical discussions about who was more cool than worry about how I felt. Not like I cared, I needed time to think. "Uhh.. yeah, I'm fine." I replied, unsure of myself. What was I going to do? I knew there was no stopping Riku, but by now, my brother had to hate my guts. Of course, he probably told Riku about yesterday. He most definitely did. Why else would he be after my scrawny butt? I snapped out of my thoughts only to find Axel standing next to me. "Heyyy, Roxas." He started. "Cheer up, emo kid. Put on a happy face!" He continued rather loudly. He then grabbed - my face - and made my lips curve up in a smile. At least I thought it was supposed to be a smile, I couldn't tell. "Gerroff mweh." I managed to say, trying to push Axel away. He then pinched my cheek. "Ahah. Your cheeks are chunky. How adorable." I finally broke free from Axel, blushing. Demyx then stepped in. "Dude, leave the guy alone. He's gonna get his ass kicked, so the least you can do is let him think." Thanks, Demyx... I need all the damn support I can get.

"No, it's okay. It's probably better if I talked." I said, not agreeing with Demyx. Why would I spend what could be the last day of my life doing nothing? Axel nodded, and continued walking. As he went forward, he seemed to get faster each and every step. We eventually reached a small gas station. A trashy looking gas station. "Now, Roxas. You better make sure to relax. I'm sure mommy would kill the two of us if she found us in here." said Axel. Demyx rubbed his eyes. "Dude, you two share a mom?" Out of nowhere, Axel and I suddenly burst out into laughter. Was this guy serious? "Hey, what's so funny? Do I have somethin' on my shirt?" Axel laughed even harder. He then pointed to a spot on Demyx's shirt. "Yeah, right here." Demyx looked down to where Axel was pointing, and then Axel smacked him in the face. Demyx looked heart broken. "Sorry, Demyx ol buddy. I couldn't help myself."

"It isn't my fault, me an' Marluxia were up all night taking shots. I'm a little out of it." Demyx told us. Axel sighed and shook his head. "Demyx, you need to calm down. I've never met a guy who drank as much as you. Anyways, I gotta get some of our magic stuff from Crisp." Who was Crisp? I didn't even bother to ask myself about the 'magic stuff'... I think I had a pretty rough idea of what it was. Axel then gave us a thumbs up and led the way into the gas station. I followed behind, but very reluctantly. "Heeey Crispy!" shouted Axel. "Axel! What can I help you with today?" said a man in a strange accent. I looked over a the man, who was half hidden behind the counter. He was a Hispanic man, about in his fourties.

"Hook me up, Crisp." Axel demanded. "I brought extra money with me." 'Crispy's' eyes lit up. "How much?" Yeah, this was definitely was I was expecting. Axel reached into his pocket and dumped a five dollar bill and singles on the counter. Crispy counted them. "Ten bucks? Okay, come with me to the back." Axel's eye lit up joyously. Ten bucks? What was that gonna get you? it couldn't pay for all of us. And I knew Axel didn't like to share. Cripsy quickly flipped the store sign to 'closed' and brought us to the back of the store. It was actually kept pretty nice in the store, considering how badly the outside looked. Crispy opened up some double doors, into a small stock room.

He went over to a small crate, and pried it open with a small crowbar lying to the side. Axel was now pracically drooling. Demyx and I shared identical confused expressions. Crispy pried it open with great effort, it just seemed like it didn't want to open. He finally got it open, and pulled out a bag of... gumballs. "Gumballs?" I questioned. "That's what you were so exited about?" Axel crossed his arms. "Chyeah! Gumballs are my life. Buttt... these aren't just any gumballs. Oh no. They're sour gumballs. The best sour gumballs. Can't get 'em anywhere else in this town." After Axel said this, I just about fell over. That was... the stupidest...

"I only sell them back here." Began Crispy. "Otherwise everyone would wipe me clean. I only sell them to Axel and his friends. They actually pay what they're worth." Axel nodded, and smiled widely. He gave Crispy his ten bucks, and was handed a pretty good amount of gumballs. "C'mon, let's go back to my house. We can have... a gumball party!" Axel shouted. Demyx agreed, and looked greedily towards the gumballs. "Wait kids, shouldn't you be going to school?" said Crispy. I almost fainted and died. Here was this awful looking gas station, a trashy looking man, and I thought there'd be some kind of 'deal' going on. But now he's telling us to go to school? Wow, I really assumed too much this time.

Axel and Demyx completely ignored Crispy. "Come on, slow pokes!" hollered Axel as he skipped his way outside of the gas station gleefully. Demyx galloped along side of him. I had to run to keep up. I really didn't feel like skipping or galloping. I was (as Axel would call me) a 'party poophead.' I chased after them for about two more streets ahead, but I wasn't tired one bit. I was pretty athletic and all, so I felt alot of pride. Maybe they'd actually be useful and keep me in shape this year now that school was down the toilet so far. We went up a small dead end street, and stopped in front of a small red house. "Weeeellll. We're here! Whaddya think, Roxas?" I studied the house up and down. There was barely any grass, the lawn looked as if it were trampled on way too much.

There were alot of cigarette butts lying around. The house needed alot of work as well, but if it were fixed up, it would be pretty nice looking. Something about it felt so comfortable. Like, I could do anything without worrying about breaking something or staining the couch. "It's pretty comfy." I replied. I was being honest and all, so there was no guilt there. Axel smiled widely, and arched his eyebrows with an unconvincing look. "Oh c'mon. You live in a fancy and big house. How the hell are you gonna say mine is comfy? I bet you're thinking it's total crap and that you want to go home in your little Prada shoes."

I arched one eyebrow, a little offended but then again puzzled. "What the hell is Prada? And I'm not rich! We barely have anything in our fridge, and how you seen our car? That thing's lasted us since I was... born!" Axel smirked. "I still don't buy it, but it's cool to lie to make it all better. I know you mean well, buddy." Axel then patted my shoulder, and opened his door without unlocking anything. I found that amazing, since my mom locks ours up tight - so tight, even a guy using an axe would be there for hours trying to hack through. What would happen in someone mugged Axel's house while he was gone? Then again, he'd probably be friends with the guy who robbed him...

We all stepped inside. His house smelled like... Axel. Oh yeah, and old alcohol. His house looked like a pretty standard house to me; The carpet had a few noticeable stains, the couch was worn down and most likely had candy bars shoved under it. Yup, it was everything my mom was afraid of. "Roxas, sorry it isn't a palace. But it's what I live it." A didn't pay much attention to Axel, I was still fixated on his house. "Just to let you know, Axel. Your house is average, I just have a neat freak and overprotective mom." Axel rolled his eyes a little. "What I'm trying to say is, I used to live in a house like this. I lived with my dad, and I'd say his house was pretty messy. Your house isn't really messy at all. So stop cracking jokes on my house! You think I like living in a place where I can't even touch the stove?" I argued. Axel shrugged. "Hey, you got it better than me That's all I know." Axel then began walking past the kitchen, and through a small hallway. He lived in a one story house. It looked like a two story house from the outside.

"Here's my room, Roxas." I stepped in through the door, and my eyes widened. It was spotless. In fact, it put my room to complete shame. "Wooow, Axel. It's so..."

"...Clean?" he finished my sentence for me. I nodded, and smiled a little. Hopefully he wouldn't crack anymore jokes on me. "Yeah, I figured you say that. My dad pretty much trashed my house, so this is all I have to keep clean. Still, it probably can't compare to your room." I half snorted and half laughed at the same time. "You gotta be joking. You can barely see the floor in my room." Axel really wasn't listening though, he just plopped down on his bed, and rested his hands behind his head. I was surprised - his bed was made and it was all green. Mine had fifty different mismatched sheets. It was really annoying, how my mom yelled at me for it. I just didn't care aobut that kind of stuff.

I suddenly felt like something was missing... "Hey, where's Demyx?" I asked. Axel shrugged. "Who knows. He's probably digging around in my fridge. That's the only reason why he comes here anymore. Soooo, Roxas." He began, sitting up, "What do you wanna do now?" I stood there silently, trying to think of something to do. "Ohhh!" Axel shouted. "I have an idea! We can eat gumballs and play The Sims. I love that game." Was he serious? I never really was into that game, I found it a little boring... maybe I could actually get used to it. He ran over to a cabinet, and revealed a TV with a PS2 underneath. Axel then plugged in two controllers and began the game.

I sat down on the floor near his bed, and he sat down right next to me. "You're gonna love this game. The Sims Bustin Out, son!" He assured me. I still didn't really feel like playing. I was never enthusiastic about trying new things for people. Still, I was doing this for Axel. Not for myself. I'm sure if I told him I didn't want to play he'd understand, but I couldn't get myself to make Axel do something he didn't enjoy. We began a new game. Two player. I named my character Roxas, after myself. He didn't really look like me, though. I made Roxas wear a trench coat which looked somewhat similar to the one I envied from Axel. Axel's character was... a freak. He gave him rainbow hair, blue jeans, a purple sweater, and pink shoes. He named his character Langdon. Why in the hell...?

Axel sighed dreamily. "If Langdon was real... I'd hit that." That was a little... extreme. "Uhhh... if there was another me, I guess I might hit that?" I said confused. It was more of trying to fit in, I guess. I didn't have to worry about what I said in front of Axel. He smirked at me. "I'd hit that. And I'd hit that too." He pointed right to me, and I turned around pretending like I didn't hear anything. "I'd get myself some Roxas if I knew he wanted some Axel." My face was now beat red, but I kept telling myself it was okay. Axel was so lucky... he could get any girls he wanted, any friends he wanted... but instead he chose to not go after girls. If I were him...

He tapped my back. "Uhhh, Roxas? Roxas Jr. just pissed his pants." My face flushed to an even deeper shade of red, and a snapped back into reality. Further into the game, I made two friends and had two girlfriends at the same time. One was kind of ugly, so I ditched her for a different Sim. Her name was Miranda or something like that. Axel made three girlfriends, two boyfriends, and kept throwing parties. I was the one who cleaned up his mess. This eventually led into me yelling at him in real life. "Axel, stop making me clean up your stupid mess!" He was too into it, though. He just laughed it off and continued playing. I myself got really into it, and felt a small obsession begin to rise. I raised up my skill points and painted 'Langdon' a picture after I raised my skill points. It was a really... bad scribble picture, but Langdon loved it.

My character was obsessed with cooking food, and eventually lit himself on fire. I then forced... I mean persuaded... Axel to drown his character in the pool so we were even. I cackled uncontrollably at the way Langdon waved his arms around for help in some weird gibberish, not even trying to climb out of the pool. "Hey, don't be mean to Langdon, you masochistic bastard." Axel scolded. I smirked, but set down my controller. My hands were real sweaty from the hours of gameplay, and I wiped them shamelessly on my blue pants. I looked at Axel's small alarm clock near his bed, and it was now nearly 12 pm already. I couldn't believe how fast time flew by.

As I looked over at Axel, I found him digging in his trench coat pocket. He pulled out some of the gumballs, and handed me a few. I took them, although I didn't really want to eat them. Axel dumped a bunch into his jaws, looking as if he entered heaven. "Oh, Roxas. You need to try these. They're so... phenomenal. And that's... just an understatement..." I rolled my eyes. Now this was a battle of pride. How good could stupid gumballs be? He made such a big deal, and it was probably over nothing. Still, I had to do my part as a friend. I picked up a gumball from my hand and inspected it as if it were some kind of poison or savage food. "It's not going to kill you Roxas, just try the damn gumball before I grab it from your hands and eat it myself!" Axel shouted. He really needed to relax, he was going all obese mode over candy.

I finally selected a light green-coloured gumball and popped it into my mouth. I knew it was just candy, but the whole fact it was sour is what set me off. Sour could mean anything. It could've been like one of those warheads that made me spit them out the moment I ate one. I rolled it around with my tongue trying to discover a taste. I soon found a taste, a taste bursting with flavor. First, I tasted something immensely sweet. It eventually grew into an almost sickening sweet, and then it suddenly became sour. Really really really sour. I wanted to take it like a man, so I sat up on Axel's bed while he stood there laughing hysterically, shouting, 'You gotta see your face!' I decided then to just chew the gum after the sour started to wear away. Inside was a sweet artificial watermelon flavor.

"So Roxas, what did you think? Are they as great as everyone says?" I thought for a moment, but then decided to not be stubborn and gave an honest answer. "Wow. That's pretty much all I have to say." Axel's face grew from happy to ticked off. "Wow? That's all you have to say? How about I come over there and make you puke it up?" I shook my head frantically. I didn't mean to make him mad... "No, it's not that. I can't put it into words. It was the best gumball I ever had." Axel now looked more satisfied and patted me roughly on the back. "That's better. Axel expects big reactions. You should know that by now."

I smiled slightly, but I wasn't that amazed by the gumball. Probably because there was so much on my mind. As I sat there, thinking about everything on my mind, Axel picked me up with one arm and threw me on his bed. I layed in a weird position now, but I was to shocked to move. He was that strong? "Okay, Roxas. What do you wanna do now?" I shrugged, untangling my body. I was pretty flexible, so I didn't hurt all over. I sat up, and sat Indian-style. Axel's eyes opened widely, and I could tell his mind was going into a plotting phase. He'd probably throw me out the window or something.

"Well, isn't this a site you'd only dream about." He began. I had no idea what he was talking about. "Roxas. Sitting all alone. All sweaty right here in my room." He plopped right down next to me, and imitated how I was sitting. "Right on my bed." I blushed intensely, but looked away. "Umm... you dream about this?" I said nervously. He laughed. "Duh, you silly goose. What's wrong? Homophobic?" I shook my head quickly. "No, I'm not homophobic. I'm straight and I don't know how to react when a supposed friend hits on you." I didn't know what Axel was thinking or what his face looked like right now, I just heard a slight rustling. "You idiot. I've been onto you this whole time. I even told you you were a hot sexy piece of ass the moment I saw you in Ansem's class and I even glomped you in gym. And yesterday - I practically blew your ear off, and now you react all weird?" he said.

It was all piecing together in my mind, slowly but surely like a puzzle. Why didn't I react? I pretty much just freaked out then. I never really thought about it until now. "You're right! It all... uhh... oh man... uhh... am I gay or something?" I wailed, half unknowing of what I was talking about. I looked Axel straight in the eye, but he shook his head. "I really don't think so, you like girls and all. Maybe you just like me? I have been known to convert people, after all." he replied, nudging me. He scooted closer, and tapped my shoulder. "But, there's only one way to find out." I looked at Axel, not knowing of what he was talking about. His face leaned in closer and he immediately swooped down like an eagle, matching his lips to mine.

I was't sure at the moment of what was happening, I just followed along. I closed my eyes, not caring of what was going to happen next. He softly pressed his hands over my back, and held me closer. He then made a slight 'ow' motion with his lips, and eventually slipped me the tongue. This was all Axel's performance, I didn't know what to do at all. He rolled his tongue in my mouth, as if trying to play with my own. I desperately followed his motions, trying to keep up. It was like a battle, and every time I matched what he did he just moved onto something else. Something more difficult, something... better.

He now pressed me down on the bed, my back delving into the green sheets. As he continued rolling his tongue in my mouth, he crept up my shirt, feeling my chest. He became more into it, practically shoving his tongue into my throat like a wild animal and biting my lip off. This was too much for me. I needed air. Fast. "Rrrffmm..." I groaned, trying to get him off. I pushed against him, trying to get him off. "Hey Axel, Roxas - " It was Demyx, who stopped in mid sentence from the sight he was now seeing. He became white as a ghost. Axel immediately jumped off of me, and fell over the edge of his bed in suprise. "What the fuck are you guys doing!" Demyx shouted. Axel stood up, and faced his friend. I was still on the bed, gasping for breath. "What does it look like we're doing?" Axel shouted. "Having a tea party?"

Demyx's eyes became fierce with anger, and it looked as if his head would explode. "Well if you were gonna suck face, you coulda locked your door or some shit. Whatever. I hope you and fucking Roxas get mono!" he shouted even louder at Axel and stormed out of the room. Axel poked his head out into the hallway. "LEAVE, BITCH. GO EAT SOME FOOD, YOU FAT FUCK." he hollered louder than ever. I now weakly sat up, not really aware of anything happing. My mouth still had Axel slobber on it, but I licked it off. It tasted like gumballs. "What an asshole." Axel growled. "He's just jealous. And it's all because I wouldn't take him back." Axel went over to me, and sat next to me like before. I sure hoped he wouldn't mount me again.

"Sorry, I got too carried away. I don't think I've ever went that far while making out with anybody for the first time." He told me. "I really like you, Roxas." I blushed once more, but this time it was worse than ever as I reviewed what just happened. I had just realised... I really liked it. "Was this your first time, Roxas?" he asked bluntly. My face now felt really hot, and I knew it was redder than it had ever been before. "Y-yeah..." I managed to say. Axel smiled - not smirked - but smiled widely. "I knew it. I could tell from when you weren't doing anything at first. I congratulate you on how fast you learned near the end. You're a pretty damn good kisser."

I was relieved to hear I wasn't a total mess. "You were... really good..." I told him, shyly. I never usually gave anyone a comment better than 'it was pretty good' or 'cool' but I had to give Axel alot of props. It was pretty hard to keep me satisfied, now that I actually thought about it. Before I knew it, Axel swept me back down with him on his bed again. "Wow.. If I'm that good, I say we have another go." He offered, stroking my hair. "I think I'll pass..." I replied quickly. Axel batted at my hair in disappointment. "Oh, you're no fun... Can we at least dry kiss?" I rolled my eyes. "Okay, fine. Just one."

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notes:

Yeah, this is Akayumi again. I'm SO SORRY. It took me 42894876 million years to write this! I feel so bad... but it was really difficult. I had to rewrite it four times - it was crazy! I was initially going to have Axel and Roxas go to school and tell off Namine (it's a long story, don't ask O-o). In another, I was going to have them catch Coud and Sephiroth doing a little somthin'-somethin' in the library. And THEN in another one, they go to school, but then go to Roxas' house after school. I was more satisfied with this one, though. I figured I wanted some action and I wanted Roxas to go to Axel's house at some point, and since in the last chapter Axel already saw Roxas' house, well it all unwinds from there. I don't know anything about making out. I've never done it. It's pathetic, but I'm too busy at home to worry about boyfriends and nonsense. I took the advice that I was given in life for that part, but I guess you knew that at my pathetic attempt to illustrate it with words. Well, I hope to make another chapter much quicker this time. Anyway, if you would like to stay in touch, I have a few accounts on gaia and I'll talk to you there. My two main accounts are Yaoi Fairy and atomic broccoli, but Yaoi Fairy has lots of AkuRoku pictures ) until the next chapter, seeya! 3