Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts I, COM, II, and any of the characters do not belong, in any way to the writer of this fanfiction. This fiction is written for non-profit reasons.

Author's Note: This story was inspired by an episode in this television show I was watching. I have no idea why I was inspired but inspiration comes in the weirdest forms (such as the Suite Life of Zack and Cody, guest-star Jesse McCartney).

The band names (Aqua Pyro), show names (Entertainment Now) and magazine names (Rock Squared, Rise Magazine) and such were all made up by me. If they happen to be real, then it is a coincidence.

Larxene is probably out of character but I haven't played Chain of Memories so I don't really know her personality.

---

The glossy paper was clenched tightly in his slightly shaking right fist (he was that angry), his sharp green eyes narrowed dangerously as a vein in his left temple twitched. His left hand swept over his unruly red locks (courtesy of his hair stylist and his arsenal of Herbal Essence) and he practically breathed steam as he read the article held in his hand.

"'Newest rising star?'"

"'With even more promise than Aqua Pyro?'"

"'Number one top single?'"

What the fuck.

"Who the hell is this kid!" he bellowed at his publicist/ agent, who had the nerve to roll her eyes.

Then again, that woman had the nerve for anything. If she didn't, she wouldn't have taken Aqua Pyro to where they currently were. She had forced them to work hard from scratch. She took them all the way to the top and beyond, helping them stay there for five years straight. Larxene was outrageous, unafraid and sadistic, all the qualities of a good publicist/ agent. She waved a nonchalant hand.

"Calm down, Axel. He's probably one of those passing teen heartthrobs. Nothing to worry about." She snatched the torn magazine page from his fist. "Besides, he's just a kid."

"Just a kid? Just a kid who got quoted in Rock Squared to have even more potential than us, is nothing to worry about?" Axel was practically in hysterics.

Larxene shrugged.

"Look! He even made the cover. We were supposed to get the cover this month." He pointed an accusing, slightly shaking finger at the close-up of the new boy. Blond haired and blue eyed, more innocent looking than anything they've seen in a long time and looking no older than sixteen. No wonder all the girls were already swooning and the tabloids already fawning over him and tracking his every move. Axel was disgusted. The kid probably couldn't even read notes or sing to save his life. It was all superficiality these days.

Larxene shrugged again. Axel grabbed his head and practically tore out his own hair, growling. "Axel," she began slowly as though talking to a child. "You're going to have to chill out. There are going to be gains and losses and quite frankly, you're just going to have to deal with it. After all, what the fuck do you want me to do? Go over to the kid's agency and have him assassinated?"

Axel's expression told her clearly that was exactly what he wanted. He got up from the leather armchair he was slouching in and started pacing the room.

"Look, maybe you just need something new. A new look?" Larxene offered.

"What's wrong with the one we got?"

"Well, maybe all the girls are into cute, short and blond now." She smirked and patted her own rigidly gelled platinum blond bob with the two antennae-like strands sticking out.

Axel gestured at his own six foot two height and stared pointedly at his music partner, who was currently dirty blond, fauxhawked and mulleted (how retro '80s) sitting in a corner happily playing with his beloved sitar. "Cute, short and blond? Not gonna happen, Larx."

"Then come out with a new single. But I gotta warn you. The kid is having his first stadium concert in a month. You might want to get it out sometime before then."

"A month for a single! That's the best solution you got? What the hell are we paying you for?"

Larxene pretended to deliberate on an answer for a moment. "You're paying me for the fact I did a damn good job at getting you where you are, Axe. I am still helping you. A month for a single's not that bad. Suck it up, Red. And face it, you ain't getting any younger. Most rock stars these days are retired by the time they're of legal age to drink. At look at you two, twenty five and still rocking at the top. I deserve a fucking medal."

She always played the guilt trip thing on him, knowing full well that it worked. And the age thing. She was good.

Axel sighed, pointedly ignoring the tender issue of age, and tried desperately to keep from screaming. He needed to burn something. "And what do you propose we actually write a single about?"

"What have all your songs been about?" The bitch knew the answer.

"Sex, life, death, politics, shit," he relayed, rolling his eyes.

"Then continue."

Axel stopped pacing for a moment and quirked an eyebrow at her. "You don't think it's getting old?"

Larxene rolled her eyes and sighed. "Of course it's getting old but what else do you propose?"
"I have no fucking clue."

"How about love?"

"Isn't that just a bit overdone? I only hear a love song every time I turn on the fucking radio, Larxene."

"Nothing wrong with doing it again."

"Ugh, conformity."

"Everything about music is, babe. It's whatever sells. And since the new kid is all lovey dovey pop haute couture shit, why not fight fire with fire?"

"So what are we going to do? Pull a love song out of my ass in a week and attempt to make a chart breaking single with it within a month?" He continued his pacing, mentally cursing at Larxene for making him attempt a single that can either make or destroy both him and Demyx with a touchy subject he was none too familiar with. Actually, he didn't even know anything about love. And he couldn't possibly expect Demyx to write the lyrics to a song. Sure, the man was amazing when it came to writing the tune and the notes but the lyrics? Forget it. He might as well hold a lyric writing contest in a kindergarten class. At least that would reap better results than a Demyx attempt at lyrical verses.

Axel rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers and resisted the growing urge to set something, anything on fire.

"Oh, by the way, you have an interview on the show Entertainment Now tomorrow. With the new kid. Xaldin'll pick you two up at nine."

"What!"

"The kid might not be that bad. You don't even know him yet."

Axel grumbled obscenities under his breath and turned to Demyx, hoping he would have some ideas for the song and to choice words to tell Larxene about her interview. The idiot wasn't even listening.

"Demyx!" he shouted, turning to his band mate, shooting death glares at the man. "You've been quiet the whole time. What've you got to say?" His voice and the expression on his face was enough to kill anyone twice over. Demyx was such a child sometimes. Axel often wondered why he put up with the man and didn't just go solo.

Demyx's head snapped up. He pulled the white earphones connected to his iPod from his ears and lowered his sitar. "Sorry, man, wasn't listening. What'd you say?"

He was confused when Axel stormed out of the room. He was already pulling the Zippo out of the back pocket of his designer jeans. "What'd I do?"

"He's just going to blow off steam. He'll be back. Probably went off to set squirrels and pigeons on fire. We've got too many of those damn things in the city anyways," Larxene said lightly, taking over the armchair Axel had previously occupied. She opened the issue of Rock Squared and flipped the magazine to the two-page spread, complete with five color photos of the new kid, Roxas.

---

"Thank you!" he called out into the dark crowd. His eyes were still squinted after an hour of standing in the harsh light of the small stage. It was pretty hard to adjust and get used to the fluorescent spotlights glaring straight in his face. He waved before walking quickly backstage as his fans, which consisted mainly of girls screamed his name repeatedly. He was dead tired and in need of a rest.

Backstage, his manager waited with a water bottle and towel, both of which he took gratefully. "Thanks, Cloud," he murmured before taking a greedy gulp and wiping the sweat off his face.

"That was a good performance, Roxas. Think you'll be ready for the stadium in a month?"

He laughed sardonically. "Who's ever ready for a stadium concert?" In fact, he was anything but ready. He did not very much like the idea of going on a stage even brighter than the one he just dealt with to sing to thousands of rabid fan girls. He was fine with small concerts and TV appearances but a stadium concert? Maybe it was a bit too soon. After all, he had started getting… attention only a sparse four months ago. His head was still reeling from all the changes in lifestyle he went through in the past year.

Cloud had assured him that all things in the show biz happened that fast. Roxas had replied that he wasn't so sure he liked the show biz all too much anymore.

"You're gonna have to be ready," Cloud replied, ushering him to the dressing rooms. "I was thinking of maybe a new single this month, either right before or right after the concert. What do you think?"

Roxas shrugged, stripping down to his boxers and pulling on the t-shirt he was originally wearing before his performance. He pulled on his jeans and fumbled with the four belts crisscrossed around his waist while flipping open his cellphone to check for messages.

"I was thinking of maybe a love song," Cloud continued.

"Isn't that what we usually do?" Roxas replied.

"Put a new spin to this one, I don't know. Put some feeling into it. Just go crazy with it. I want something straight from here." He poked Roxas's chest.

Roxas smirked. "Things are going great with Leon, eh?"

Cloud grinned. "Maybe."

Roxas nodded absently, barely listening as he scrolled through his email. He knew better than that. His blond manager was obsessed with Leon, his agent and the same could be said about the stoic brunette.

"Oh, and we have a photo shoot with Rise Magazine in an hour. You're on their cover this month." Cloud took out his cellphone.

Roxas frowned. "Isn't their building at least one and a half hours away from here?"

Cloud grinned. "Reno's driving."

---

On his back to the hotel he was staying at from the photo shoot, Roxas sat in the backseat of the black SUV, behind tinted windows with his earphones blasting what he considered calming music in his ear; which meant the loud, harsh vocals and guitars of the Aqua Pyro duet, his favorite band. The band had inspired him in many ways, not to mention the fact that he had a crush on their guitarist, Axel (yes, he, Roxas, the current teenage heartthrob of teenage girls worldwide liked men).

He tapped his pen against his pursed lips, trying to come up with a new song. The page on his lap was depressingly empty, the vivid white of the paper almost taunting. Cloud had wanted a love song but how the hell could he expect Roxas to write about something he knew nothing of?

He took off one of his earphones and turned to his driver. It would be useless to ask his stoic bodyguard. Rude would probably just ignore the question. "Hey, Reno."

"Yeah?" the redhead replied, turning his head to address him.

Roxas ignored the fact that they were still driving at almost eighty miles per hour on a highway and the fact that Reno wasn't even looking at the road. He was used to it. The man was crazy. Eighty miles per hour was considered slow for Reno. "Er… this might sound weird... I don't even know if I should ask."

"Shoot, man."

"Mmm…. Okay, well. Have you ever… been in love?"

Reno started, turning his gaze back to the road. The question had caught him off guard. He sneaked a glance at the big bulk of a man in the passenger seat next to him. Rude lifted an eyebrow over dark shades but otherwise did not change his expression nor offer assistance in dealing with the question. "Why'd you ask?"

Roxas shrugged, knowing Reno was watching him in the rearview mirror. He felt a faint blush creep over his cheeks as he turned towards the window and pretended to admire the blur of the rapidly passing scenery. "I need, I suppose, research and inspiration, for my new song. Cloud wants love romance crap from the 'heart.'" He curled his fingers in air quotes to accentuate his point.

Reno chuckled. "I think it's best that you find all the answers to love by yourself, my man, know what I mean? Others, besides maybe your loved one, can't really help you with such things." Rude smirked beside him.

The youngest frowned. "Yeah, I suppose. I — ugh!" He jumped when he felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket. He flipped it open to find it was Cloud. "Hey."

"Roxas," Cloud called cheerfully. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got you an interview on Entertainment Now."

"Okay?"

"Tomorrow."

"That's cool."

"Aqua Pyro are going to be there."

Roxas's eyes lit up at once. He gripped the phone tighter. "Freaking wicked!"

"They're going to be in the interview with you. We're all required to go there a bit early so we can get acquainted before the show."

Roxas almost had to stick his fist into his mouth to keep from screaming like one of his fan girls. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was going to meet Axel. Tomorrow!

"I fucking love you, Cloud!"

---

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