Author's notes: Hah. I got a review that reads, "OO Poor Roxas, And what makes Axel think he knows what Roxas wants? Why did Xigbar decide to go? Will Roxas and Axel EVER kiss?" Ok, this seriously made me crack up. Why? In chapter six, it was my original plan that before Roxas wakes up from his sleep, he was supposed to receive a kiss from Axel because of Xigbar's teasing. Why I took it out? Because in my opinion, it seemed too random and I couldn't quite make it blend. If that makes any sense… –puts hardhat on- Please, don't hurt me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the characters, but I do own the city they live in.

But I do need to give credit to my friend, Aryll, who wrote a big chunk of the lyrics later mentioned. She's awesome, thank you.

WARNING: Violence, violence, violence, and a tad bit of death.

I love reviews. They feel like happy. Enjoy chapter seven!

Chapter Seven: The Overdose

Knock, knock.

"Hey, Demyx, you ok," I sternly asked as I had to raise my voice to be heard over the chuckling of next door.

"Um," he opened the door about two inches, his eyes poking out, "kinda…yeah, I guess."

"What Axel said, about Xigbar-"

"I was going to go see him," he cut off. "But, that would have been stupid. It's what he wants and I can't stop him. I just don't understand why."

My shoulders slumped and I was found at a loss. What do you tell someone who lost a friend who practically killed themselves? Screw this 'aiding them in their death' crap! "Demyx, go! Maybe there's still time left! Maybe Xigbar is still alive!" My voice had a sudden burst of enthusiasm; it was enough to convince Demyx.

"Ok, I'll go." He walked past me, closing the door behind him. When he reached the stairs, he stopped. "Knowing Axel, wouldn't it be locked?"

I crossed my arms and looked up, into my brain. "Well, he did lock the door with me, I think. So," my blue eyes met Demyx's, "yeah." His shoulder's sagged as he let out a sigh of defeat. His body seemed to slump together like a deflating accordion. "Lucky for you, Axel left the keys here."

The shattering of glass woke me from my slight slumber, followed by a forceful slam into the wall. "Ass-wipe! I need this!"

"Come on! Just two bottles that's it! You have like, lots of them!" A rattling could be heard behind the door. "Oh my god," snickered Hayner, "you really are PMS man!" Axel let out an infuriated growl and I'm pretty sure a punch was thrown.

"Hah! Hayner, he's so wasted! Let's get out of here!" Although I couldn't see it, the sounds illustrated a picture of what was happening: the two mischief-makers ran away, leaving Axel with his booze and rattling object. I still couldn't place my finger on what it was. Steps approached the door and I waited calmly in the chair at the table for him to open the door.

"I hate those guys," Axel rolled his eyes and placed two grocery bags in front of me. He pulled out an empty, cardboard beer holder and tossed it into the trash bin in the kitchen. I'm sure some of those were stolen and the others were on the floor. "Well? Drink up."

My jaw dropped, "you got all these for me?" My eyes scanned over the four packs of beer.

"Hell no," Axel snorted, "Some of these are for tomorrow. You may have as much as you'd like, though."

I hesitated before grabbing one, "why are you being so nice?"

Axel pulled one out and snapped off the bottle cap with ease. "Nice? Roxas, Roxas, did you forget why I'm doing this?"

Sadness hit me like a brick to the face, "oh, yeah. You want to get rid of me." The drunken man pulled out a bottle and set it down in front of me, like he was taunting me to drink it. I raised one of my eyebrows, "you want to get rid of me through alcohol poisoning?"

Axel reached into a pocket and pulled out a balled fist, inside something rattled. "Nope, sleeping pills," he smirked. "I know you don't like pain, so I got some pills."

"But what's the beer for?"

There was an awkward silence between us as he placed the pills back in his pocket, "from personal experience, I've learned that beer is a good drink to put people into an easy sleep. So, you better start drinking!" His cheerfulness sickened me. "Also, alcohol is the best medication to end sadness and forget," he winked at me. I want to slap that smile off his face. "And forgetting this will be for the best." Yell at him for how stupid he is, stupid for killing his friends to end their pain, rather than sharing the pain. That's what friends are for right? But who am I to think these things? I'm the same as Axel. "And I certainly want to forget you."

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my savior.

"So, Xigbar takes off 'is eye patch and yells at duh guy, 'FUCK OFF!'" Axel and I roared with laughter. After four beers, I'm feeling pretty good. We were in our own little world, laughing, drinking, and enjoying the time we had left of each other. "Yeah, he wuz uh great guy." The redhead lifted his beer to the ceiling, "for Xigbar!"

"For Xigbar," I chimed in as we downed the alcohol. We simultaneously slammed our bottles onto the table and let out an earth-trembling belch. Again, another roar of laughter.

"Good god, Roxas, yer uh riot," he slapped his knee and let out a content sigh. By this point in the night, Axel's speech has began to slur due to his consumption. "Ya know, I wuz planning on slipping arsenic in yer drink but I couldn' fine any."

A firecracker explosion sounded between us. "What?"

Before I could get any answers, Axel shoved another bottle at me, "Here."

"I couldn't have ano-"

"Not fer you! Demyx! He deserves one after the bitch I've been today."

"But first, tell me: why-"

"Don't be a bitch," he said in a playful voice, "just give 'em the beer!"

I took it but objected, "why don't you give it to him?"

Axel waved an arm to shoo me off, "too lazy."

I left to do as instructed and luckily ran into Demyx at his door. "Hey, man," I greeted him with a salutation I wouldn't normally use.

He jumped and put his back to the wall, shocked. "R-Roxas!"

"Wha," I drunkenly replied, holding out the drink. Another reason why I hated alcohol, it gave me the 'stupid effect,' as I like to call it.

The mullet-boy didn't take it, just stared past it at…me? Was I that drunk? Within the time frame he checked me out, I observed him, as well. He was paranoid about something; a guilty dog with its ears folded behind its head; a child hiding in a corner after committing a heinous deed; a criminal with his head lowered to hide the shame: either way, something was wrong and it just wasn't his shirt he was wearing backwards. "Demyx? Your shirt's on…" before I could finish, my eyes caught a glint of silver at his torso, I couldn't help but to look down, despite how many crude jokes Demyx could have made. He saw my glance and looked down with me; his zipper was undone. A rosy-red flashed on his cheeks as he spun around to fix the problem. "What's wrong with you? You're acting really weird."

Demyx looked behind his shoulder at me. "I d-didn't do anything."

"I didn't say you did."

Caught.

He sighed and dug in his pocket for his key. "Look, maybe I did something, but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you," he snapped at me as he attempted to put the key in the door with his quivering hand.

"Hey, take it easy." I walked towards him and took the key. "You don't have to tell me, ok? I was just wondering if you were ok." I twisted the key, unlocking the door. The beer was forced into Demyx's hands. "Relax." My feet began to retreat slowly, watching the talented youth, making sure he wasn't going to do something crazy.

Just as I turned my back to him, he called out to me, "Roxas, catch!" I whipped around and clumsily caught the keys Demyx 'borrowed' to open the garage. "Thank you," he said, nodding his head at me in recognition.

I returned the nod and walked back into Axel's apartment. The placed the garage keys on the shelf and took a seat across from Axel. He was so 'sloshed' he didn't even notice the jingle of the keys.

"Where were we," I asked as I reached for a beer.

"Ya know, I wuz planning on slipping 'arse-in-ick' in to yer drink?"

"Come again?"

"Are-sin-ick?" Axel was seriously drunk. I'm sure he won't remember anything by tomorrow morning, and have a major hangover.

"Arsenic?"

"Yeah, that word," he giggled.

"Arsenic! You were going to poison me," I jumped up and slammed down my drink, almost spilling it.

Axel became defensive, "could you blame me? You are one stubborn son-of-a-bitch. Just drop dead already!"

I jumped out of my seat, and Axel did the same. "So you were planning on murdering me?"

"Yeah, I thought it be that, but after so many kills, who's keeping count?"

I pointed a finger to the ceiling, "God is!"

"Please, Roxas," Axel snorted, "you know I dun believe in God."

"Then why try to 'aid' others, rather than killing them?" Axel crossed his arms, and closed his arms, in deep thought. He began to tap his foot.

"Ta be honest, I dun know. It's kinda just uh tradition."

I stepped back disgusted, "tradition? So you expect to be doing this your whole life?"

Axel opened his eyes, "basically, yeah." I took back my seat and reached for my drink but withdrew my hand.

"Screw this! Give me the pills." Axel watched me as if I had said nothing. "Well?" My blue eyes darted up to his uniquely colored ones, which had multiplied due to the level of alcohol in my system.

"Fine." He reached for his pocket and pulled out the small, cylindrical bottle. "Knock yerself out, literally." I snatched the rattling bottle out of his hands before he could set it on the table. I tried the read the orange label but it just looked like muddled-English. My languid hands tried to pop off the cap, but not only was it child proof but drunk-proof, too. "Need uh hand?" I didn't give a reply; I was too upset with him.

"Chill, Roxas. This'll be over soon," I told myself, "hopefully." Axel, also, had troubles with the stubborn bottle. I took a seat at the bed, just as a heard a pop.

"Ah, hah!" A drunken, serene Axel plopped onto the mattress next to me. He looked so out of it. His eyes began to shut but a quick crack of a firework. "Shit! They're going to kill someone with those!"

"Axel, what if these don't work? What if I sleep for a long time but wake up?" He turned his head to me and gave me a sheepish smile. In the corner of his mouth, there was a droplet of saliva seeping out.

"Dun worry. Even if you wake up later, I'll wait until you do, so we can start this process all over again." He leaned in, his eyes had turned opaque. I wasn't sure if he was really there any more after 9 beers. A hand thrust into mine and pulled away, leaving 8 orange tablets. Without another thought, I shoved them into my mouth and swallowed. It was swallowing bees, stingers and all. "Night, Roxas."

I laid my head down and wished for sleep. It was expected for the medication to take a while before it seeped in. "Axel, do you really want to forget me?" He didn't answer, in fact, he ignored me. The red-head got up and walked to the other side of the room. I guess that's a yes. "Why me and not them," I referred to the shelf cluttered with assorted items. Axel walked back over and took a seat next to me, like how a mother would with her child. He didn't say anything, he just let his hand run through my hair. Normally, I wouldn't let people do this, but it felt so comforting. My eyes began to sag, I didn't want to go to sleep until I had the answer, but he didn't want to give it to me. "Why," I hissed as I closed my eyes.

"Silly boy," he chuckled, his grip on my head getting firmer, but still pleasant. "I-"

Damn him. Damn him and his soothing hands.

I'm not sure what I did. Maybe watching Axel kill his friends is just as good as doing it yourself, but for whatever the reason, I think I'm in hell. It's humid and it smells like ash. It's like there's one-hundred cigars under my nose. This place sucks. What did I do to deserve this? If I ever see Axel again, and most likely I will, I'll be sure to tell him that "aiding people" gets them a first-class ticket to hell.

It bites, I can't breath, or if I do, I'll only get lung-fulls of ash. It's not fair! There's no oxygen!

Help!

I opened my eyes to see the room flooded with smoke. It didn't help that the collar of my shirt was over my mouth, I was still coughing a wheezing. On the opposite corner, there was Axel: out like a light.

This isn't right? Am I a ghost?

I jumped up from the bed and looked back at the mattress: no body, I am alive! Was God inflicting his wrath on me? Keeping me alive to do what? I glanced around the room, the thick black smoke was only getting worse. Axel would have surely died if I didn't do anything. My jelly-like legs wobbled over to the other side of the room; I shoved the drunken man, he groaned but no signs of getting up.

Time was decaying as were we, if we stayed here any longer. I began to ravagly shake Axel, along with a few hits. "What the hell," he shouted, jumping up. "Roxas what's-" he had a coughing fit just as I did.

"We need to get out of here!" Axel nodded and picked up his hoodie which was laying on the floor. He balled it up and stuck it to his face and followed me out the door.

"Wait," Axel called just as I put my hand on the door knob.

I withdrew my hand and shook it about, "ow!" Axel shoved the garage keys in his pocket and ran over to the door. "There's a fire on the other side!"

"Stand back," he drew me away from the door and brought his foot up. The door easily gave away and a wave of heat struck us. "Shit." Axel pushed on and went into the fire engulfed hallway. I followed and stopped at the sight of the body lying on the floor.

"Demyx!"

"Shit," Axel fell on his knees next to him and tried to prop him up.

"The assholes," he coughed out, "their fireworks." Demyx pushed Axel away and got up. "We don't have much time. This building is old, it'll fall apart any second." Luckily, the stairway wasn't blocked off, so we took our leave.

"Wait," halfway down the stairs, Demyx stopped, "my sitar!" He let go and ran back to his room, which was dangerously close to the fire.

"No! Leave it!"

"Damn it, what's he up to," Axel growled.

"He left his sitar in his room."

The sweating red-head pushed me to the side and ran up the stairs and to Demyx's apartment but was stopped when a support beam next to the door collapsed in the way. "Shit! Demyx!" I slowly walked up and watched the scene unfold in front of me. Axel took his hoodie and began to beat on the fallen piece of wood. "Fuck!" His beating wasn't doing much but getting his clothing charred.

"Axel, stop!" He looked up, panting furiously. "Leave it, if this is the way it's meant to be…"

"NO!" Axel dropped his hoodie and put his hands to his ears. "Don't say it!" He hunched over, trying to avoid Demyx's eyes but his heart told him he had to see it.

I wasn't close enough to hear what Demyx said, but through the blurry gaze of the fire, I could still make out the words: "…then, let it be that way." He turned away, with a small smile on his face and walked into the darkness of his apartment. I thought after that, I was never going to see him, but from a distance I could see his face appear again. "Axel, catch," he called out as a small object was thrown through the fire. He looked up and causally caught it in his hands.

"Wait! Why?" Demyx just smiled and gave a silent 'thank you' as he turned and walked away. Axel could sense defeat and wasn't going to go after him; instead, he turned to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the stairs. "Come on, we need to get out of here!"

Running out of the sweltering building into the cool air was the best feeling. I let go of my shirt and took a breath of fresh air. Outside, there was many interesting people who, I assume, lived in that building. To the side, a few people were crowding around the two teens that were playing with fireworks. "What the hell is wrong with you? You could have killed someone!"

How right they are.

Oh, please baby, don't forget me

My body may be gone but my soul is still here

I've heard this song before…

Even if you ignore me, the memory is still there

Please don't forget or I'll only be dust in the air

A strong tenor voice could be heard through the arguing, accompanied by a mellow sitar. Everyone stopped and looked up at the burning building, lighting up the night sky.

When the love left the heart

Bitterness reigned wild

Over the shadows of corpses

That only wanted a home

I looked over at Axel, he was focusing on a window which I was sure was Demyx's. His fist clenched around the unknown item given to him. I looked up at the window and squinted my eyes. In the midst of smoke, a faint outline of a lanky male could be seen, holding the oversized instrument.

When we held our hands so tight

We never believed we'd be ripped apart

Lies and secrets grow so strong

That even closed eyes can see

Sirens quickly approached our location and didn't stop to listen. "You have to hurry! There's someone in there," a woman frantically cried out, her teary eyes never leaving the window. The firemen attached their hoses and began to spray the building while a few others went in with their fire axes.

Baby, I want to be brilliance in your mind

I want to be a light that's always on

You'll never come home to darkness

And you'll never be alone

The fire was getting worse and the building was collapsing. No one was coming out. I looked up at Axel; a grin was spread on his face. He was about to burst with laughter any second, I won't bitch about it this time though, he'll need laughter to get over this loss.

Oh, please baby, don't forget me...

His voice faltered and the outline disappeared. "Dear god, Axel. He's singing about…Naminé, isn't he?"

Axel gave a solemn nod, "yeah, he knew it was wrong, but he loved her with all his heart."

"And so, his parents kicked him out," I finished.

"Yeah," He sat down on the ground and stared at his feet, chuckling to himself. I looked down at him, just as he made his crescendo up to his cynical laughter. He tossed his head to watch the fire burn, tears in his eyes.

"Axel!" I fell to the ground next to him. "Please don't."

He quieted down and lifted the object from his hands, "thank you, Demyx," he whispered as he opened his hand to reveal an orange cylinder bottle. It had a white label wrapped around it which had Axel's first and last name.

"Is that the medicine?"

Axel nodded, the tears kept gushing, "with this, Roxas," he looked up at me, "I can finally be myself." He gave a friendly kiss to the bottle and opened it. There was about six pills in it. Axel took one and swallowed. He smiled at me, "sorry, but these should make me better. I won't be a hormonal teenage bitch."

A thought struck me, "Axel, why did those two idiots call you "PMS man?'"

"They found out about my disorder."

Their words echoed in my head, 'you really are PMS man!' "But the way they said it, it sounded like he confirmed it."

Axel looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry Roxas but I can't lie to you any more." He reached in his pocket and pulled out the sleeping pills and handed it to me. I wasn't as drunk as earlier so I could read the label.

"'Menstra-gone?' What the hell?" I read the side of the label, "'used for: headaches, soreness, and menstrual cramps.'" I narrowed my eyes at Axel, "you never had any intent on killing me, did you?"

"That's not true!" He whipped his head at me. "I wanted to at first but…then, I dunno…you seemed so much different from the others."

"Who?"

"My friends. They all-"

"I don't care about your fucking friends," I shouted, "what kills me is how you led me on! How long were you planning on doing this!"

Axel leaned away and I stood up, looking down at him. "I'm sorry, Roxas. I don't know. I knew the charade had to end sometime but I never wanted to-"

"SHUT UP!" I flung out my hands and stared at him. So much time wasted, so many things said, so many friends made. "How long, how long have you not wanted to 'aid' me?"

"Excuse me; are you two friends of the man that was singing?" I turned around, a fireman was standing there, panting, covered with ashes and sweat. He took a step back, surprised at the sight of me. Probably because I was pretty young compared to all the others that lived in the building.

"No," Axel replied. I turned my head back to him; tears were welling up in his eyes again.

"Do you happen to-"

"Please leave," I said, knowing Axel didn't want to hear anything. His 'real' self was back, and it just got a face-full of the real world.

"Sorry," he said as he left to assist the other firemen.

Axel spoke in a tone I've never heard, the medication must be working, "ever since…after the fire…I didn't even want to hurt you."

What is he trying to do? Make me stay?

"Axel, is all you really want, is make me stay?" I kneeled down to him. "Are you really that-"

"I hate to interrupt," we looked behind us to see Zexion standing with his arms crossed over his chest, "but I believe you just lost your home."

"What are you doing here," Axel spat at him.

A twisted grin spread across his face, "this fire is all over the news and seeing how you never really 'helped' me…"

Ok. I give you permission to bash me, hate me, yell at me, anything. I know I deserve some type of "DIE BETCH" for not updating in a long time. But here's a secret: if I'm not working on a fanfic I am most likely either drawing or playing video games. So technically, if I'm not updating my fanfic then I'm updating my deviant art. If you want a link or a screen name, feel free to ask.

-sigh- I'm really sorry this took so long. School's a bitch, my friends are turning into bitches, and I'm turning into one…kinda… I finally beat Kingdom Hearts II on hard mode so more time should be devoted into updating stuff. I can't say how long it'll take for chapter 8 to go up. Maybe…a while…I dunno. I really crammed in writing, like, I was writing during class. But enough monologue-ing.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review. (Also, I'm a sucker for beggars and whiners, those typically get me writing.)

-Lady of the Cards-

P.S.

I've been told that I write some pretty random stuff into my fanfic, but here's another secret: nothing is random. Everything has a reason for happening in the story. So if you're like, "wtf! Why's his shirt backwards!" There's a reason.