Chapter XIII (3,339)
Axel woke with a pounding headache and a bitter taste in his mouth. Ugh. He hated hangovers, but then, he didn't think anyone would enjoy them. He could hear Zexion up and moving around but didn't have the energy to force himself out of bed. The light would have been too much for his eyes, anyway.
"Get up. Your coffee awaits, Lord of the Partiers."
With a groan, Axel sat up and rubbed at his eyes, feeling the gross, gooey clumps that stuck to his eyelashes. He knew his breath probably smelled like a gas station restroom and he didn't look much better. Zexion stood before him holding out a mug of strong coffee, which Axel gratefully accepted.
"You overdid it last night."
"I'm aware." He paused, remembering the party. "Shit…did I really…?"
"Make a total ass of yourself? Yes."
Axel glared, his headache making it impossible for him to enjoy Zexion's usual sarcasm. "I meant, did I actually harass Roxas or was that just a nightmare?"
Zexion turned to him, silent, and Axel found his answer in the blue-haired senior's sympathetic expression.
Rubbing at his eyes, Axel quickly gulped down the coffee. Brilliant. He'd officially ruined any chance of even being the blond sophomore's friend and had no idea how to make up for it. Leaving the mug on the floor by his bed, the redhead stood and went to the sink to wash his face and brush his teeth. Today was a day for homework and videogames while he tried to come up with a way to adequately apologize for how he'd behaved towards the younger student. As he began to change, however, he caught a whiff of himself and decided a shower was in order if he didn't want to smell like cigarettes and booze for the rest of the day.
Zexion didn't look up as his roommate left, already focused on his Calculus homework. They had an exam coming up during the next week and he intended to know the equations better than the back of his hand. Once the door closed behind Axel, the blue-haired teen leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh. Guilt was distracting him from his studies, something that annoyed him greatly, but he was having a hard time pushing it to the back of his mind. He'd dreamt about it the night before and had woken up in a cold sweat—now he couldn't even focus on his schoolwork.
I should have done something. Anything. But I didn't, he thought, staring at his text book. Why hadn't he done anything? There was nothing stopping him—he easily could have stepped out of the shadows and helped…but no, it wasn't his problem What did he care if Mister Marluxia had a thing for a student? Even if the kid hadn't liked it, the pink-haired teacher would probably get bored sooner or later and leave him alone. Yes, that's what would happen. Marluxia would get bored toying with the blond junior and move on to a new source of amusement. There was nothing for Zexion to get upset about and he certainly didn't need to get mixed up in anything like that during his senior year. As long as he stayed focused on his studies and took care of his own interests then everything would work out fine. The blond student wasn't his problem.
So why did he still feel like a bastard for not doing anything?
"Come on, slow-poke, what did you do, stay out too late dancing?"
Gritting his teeth, the younger student forced his legs to move faster.
"You'll never beat me if you don't pick up your pace!"
Jump over the log, weave between the bars, climb the wall.
Keep moving. Don't slow down.
Roll through the landing, crawl under the planks, get up as fast as possible and keep running. Maintain speed on the balance beam then use it as a boost to grab the monkey bars, swing forward and grab the next bar and the next and the next, jump to cover distance, don't trip on the tires.
Careful, careful, careful! Come on, you can do this! Show him what you've got!
"I'm going to fall asleep waiting for you!"
With a final sprint, he crossed the finish line and came to a halt, panting heavily. Sweat dripped down his face and back, making his shirt stick to him. Fog hid most of the surrounding landscape, adding to the moisture that clung to his skin.
"Forty-seven seconds slower than last week," a voice sounded from behind him and just to his right.
Still trying to catch his breath, Sora put his hands behind his head and turned to face the other student. "Your taunting didn't help, Riku."
The older student smirked. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would it help if I borrowed a cheerleading uniform and chanted your name?"
Sora blushed as an image of the other boy dressed as a cheerleader appeared, unbidden, in his thoughts. "No…"
"Then stop whining and get your lazy bum in gear. You made a commitment to train. Coach Xaldin doesn't give out equipment passes lightly so prove you earned the one around your neck."
"I'm not lazy!" the brunette protested, hurt that Riku would say such a thing.
Riku lifted his chin. "Prove it." Turning, he picked up his bag and strode away, leaving Sora with no choice but to follow.
"Where are we going?" When he didn't get an answer, Sora huffed and picked up his pace in order to keep up with the taller student. Using his equipment pass as a key, Riku unlocked the doors to the gymnasium and led Sora into the equipment locker.
Obviously accustomed to the organizational pattern, he headed straight for the fencing equipment and tossed a blunted rapier at Sora. "You know how to use this?"
Sora grinned and caught the hilt with ease. "Of course."
"Then suit up, because I challenge you to a duel."
With a flick of his wrist, Sora twisted the blade through the air and bowed. "I accept your challenge."
Ten minutes later both boys were dressed in padded white uniforms and wore protective masks. They paced off and held their blades ready, each waiting for the other to make the first move. The seconds ticked by. They began to circle each other slowly, searching for a weakness. Suddenly, Riku lunged gracefully, his rapier aimed low towards Sora's left hip. Stepping to the side, the brunette dodged and swiped Riku's blade aside with his own then slid his leading foot forward and struck at Riku's shoulder, only to have Riku block and counter. Thwarted, the younger boy sprang back then forward, striking again. The duel continued, increasing in speed and ferocity the longer it lasted. Light on their feet, Sora and Riku almost seemed to be dancing, moving perfectly in time with each other, striking, blocking and parrying with an ease that reflected the hours of practice they'd put into the sport.
When at last they separated, panting from the exertion, rapiers ready, they removed the masks and faced each other, both ready to continue.
Sora grinned cheekily. "Your move, Riku." The silver-haired boy nodded, and the duel began again.
Bloodshot eyes stared back at Roxas as he looked in the mirror. He hadn't slept more than a few hours—every time he'd come close to dozing off all he could think about was the party. No matter how many times he brushed his teeth, he could still taste the alcohol that had been on Axel's breath. The air in his room was practically toxic from the amount of air freshener he'd sprayed in his attempts to cover up the memory of cigarette smoke.
Why'd he have to be drunk? He called me cute…but he was drunk, so is it really a compliment? I wish he hadn't kissed me. That was disgusting, and my first kiss, too! I hope he feels terrible about it, but even if he does I'm not letting it go. Ugh…stop thinking about it, Roxas. Stop thinking about it or you'll be sick.
He brushed his teeth again.
Momentarily free of the taste of beer, Roxas opened the medicine cabinet and stared longingly at the sleeping pills his parents had sent along with him to school. His homework was done so he could take a nap, but he didn't want to mess up his sleep cycle by sleeping through the whole day. Then again, staying up all night wasn't good either. Sighing, Roxas closed the cabinet and went to his desk. He might as well study for his upcoming exam if he wasn't going to sleep.
Taking out his text book and notes, he began looking over everything that could even possibly be on the exam. It was a perfect distraction from his memories of the night before, at least, until he came upon the notes Axel had taken for him. A strange feeling came over him as he looked at the notes. He was angry about what had happened, yes, but the spiky-haired senior couldn't be all bad if he was willing to take such meticulous notes for someone else. Could he?
"Ugh, this is too confusing," the blond muttered, leaning forward to rest his forehead on his desk. "He passed me those notes and got me in trouble, then gave me an apology letter and perfect calculus notes to make up for it. Last night he got drunk and kissed me. How does he plan on apologizing for that? I'm almost starting to think that he can't help but do things to screw himself over. If he likes me as much as he claimed to in all those notes, then why hasn't he tried just talking to me?" Roxas gave a frustrated sigh. Emotions were more confusing than calculus and advanced chemistry combined and Roxas was beginning to think that life would be much easier without them.
"Roxas, I'm sorry about last night."
No, that didn't sound sincere.
"Roxas, I'm really sorry for what I did. There's no excuse, but…" Axel sighed, staring at his reflection, and thought again about how lucky it was that Zexion had gone to the lab to do an extra credit experiment. The blue-haired senior certainly wouldn't have been any help at figuring out how to apologize to Roxas. At this rate he was going, however, Axel doubted that he'd ever come up with a suitable way to apologize. Roxas would hate him forever and Larxene would get exactly what she'd wanted all along.
Axel's grip tightened on the edge of the sink. That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it happen. No way in hell was he going to let that whore ruin his senior year. He was going to fix things with Roxas and he wasn't going to let Larxene toy with him anymore. She'd ruined his homecoming and that had been the last straw. First thing, he had to show Roxas that he was more than just some drunk at a party, and he had a good idea of how to do it. It might not work and could easily end very badly for him, but he was still willing to try. Whatever happened, he at least had to try, and no matter what, the look on Larxene's face when he got his chance would be worth it.
Emerald eyes practically shining with mischief, Axel grinned at his reflection. "I might enjoy this more than I should."
With her hands pressed over her ears, Namine did her best to block out what her redheaded cousin was telling her. It wasn't the sort of thing she was comfortable with hearing and Kairi very well knew it, yet she continued speaking as if Namine were hanging on her every word. Finally she couldn't take it anymore.
"I don't want to know about your dirty fantasies!"
Kairi giggled, covering her face with her hands. "Sorry, sorry!" She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she sat on her bed and looked across the room at her blond cousin. "It was just surprising, you know? I never thought I'd dream about him." Her blue eyes took on a faraway look. "But it was amazing, Mi-Mi. The dream wasn't even dirty…we were just sitting there and he was holding me…" The redhead sighed and waved her hands. "Anyway, did you have fun at the dance with Roxas?"
Namine blushed and nodded, looking down at her freshly-painted toenails. They were bright red, a color Kairi had chosen for her, and seemed impossibly vivid against her pale skin. "Yes. I'm glad he asked me to go."
More than accustomed to her cousin's shy behaviors, Kairi waited a moment before posing her next question. "Do you like him? I mean, like him like him."
Narrow shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe. He's sweet and kind and fun and I really like spending time with him, but I don't know if I like him that way."
"Would you date him?"
Blushing darker, the blond girl nodded. "If he asked me. Would you?"
Kairi laughed. "Me, date Roxas? Naw, he's too quiet for me. You know that, Namine."
"I meant Sora. Do you like him or are you still convinced he's going to date Riku?"
Lowering her voice conspiratorially as if someone might be listening, Kairi leaned forward towards her blond cousin. "I have my own plans for those two. Riku's putting up a good fight, but he won't be able to hide his feelings for much longer. Not after what I've got in mind."
"What are you going to do?"
The redhead winked. "Spoilers." Namine knew that meant Kairi wasn't about to give up any of her secrets. If she cared to ask, she could probably convince the other girl to tell her, but she didn't really want to know. The less she was involved in Kairi's drama, the better. All Kairi's plans ever seemed to do was end in trouble, even the redhead wouldn't always admit it. The pool prank certainly hadn't ended well.
"At least you're done with detention," the blond said, changing the subject. She picked up a sketchbook and flipped to a blank page.
"Yeah," Kairi sighed, looking out the window. "Glad those are over. I was bored out of my mind grading all those papers." Despite her words, Namine got the feeling that Kairi hadn't disliked them as much as she claimed, but she didn't push the subject. A few minutes passed in near silence as Namine sketched and Kairi continued to stare out the window. Eventually, Kairi broke the silence.
"Come here, Ni-Ni," she said, gesturing for the blond girl to sit on the floor in front of her. Namine did so without complaint, taking her sketchbook with her, and leaned her back against the frame of Kairi's bed. Humming quietly to herself, Kairi began to braid her cousin's white-blond hair, just like she'd done when they were younger. Sighing, Namine settled back comfortably and closed her eyes.
"You haven't braided my hair in a long time, Kai."
Wrapping her arms around the blonde's slim shoulders, Kairi hugged her. "I know…a lot has changed…sometimes I still forget…"
Namine nodded, looking down at her half-finished sketch. "I miss them." Her voice wavered as she tried not to cry.
"Me, too."
Several moments passed before Kairi released her cousin and continued braiding her hair, gathering each strand meticulously as she worked her way down the back of Namine's skull. When she had just under an inch of hair left, she picked up a bit of loose ribbon from her desk and used it to tie off the braid, making a bow. Finished, she looked over the other girl's shoulder to see what she'd been drawing. Her eyes widened in surprise and her jaw dropped.
"Namine!"
The sketchbook snapped shut as the blonde's heart rate skyrocketed and she clutched the book to her chest protectively. "What?"
Too shocked to say anything, Kairi simply shook her head and pointed at the book, wordlessly demanding an explanation.
Clearly embarrassed, Namine drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead on them, hiding her face. "It's nothing."
"That is not nothing!" Bewilderment and surprise colored Kairi's tone, raising her voice several notes higher than normal. She couldn't believe what she'd seen. Namine—innocent, loving, carefree Namine—couldn't possibly have drawn such a thing. It wasn't possible. She simply didn't think of things like that, must less sketch them out. At least, Kairi had never suspected she did.
"Since when have you been drawing things like that?" she questioned, much calmer now.
Her face dark red, Namine got up and went back to her own side of the room. She wished Kairi hadn't looked at her drawing, but then, she shouldn't have been drawing that when someone could see. It wasn't that bad, but obviously her cousin disapproved. "N-never…it's the first one…"
That didn't surprise Kairi at all. "Well, it's good. The quality, I mean. But, Mi-Mi, why on earth would you draw that, especially after what you saw?"
"I don't know," the blond whispered, looking down at the cover of her sketchbook. "Sometimes I get an image in my head, and if I don't sketch it or paint it, then it never goes away."
"What made you picture that?"
"I was thinking about that day and it just popped into my head. I don't know why I thought of it." Namine turned pleading eyes on her cousin. "Can we talk about something else, please?"
Shrugging, Kairi moved to sit on the floor and looked through her collection of nail polish, trying to decide which color to use. She settled on metallic silver and began painting her toenails. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Anything else."
Kairi painted another toenail. "Did you hear what happened at the party last night?"
"No, what happened?"
"John Smith told me that Roxas got hit on by a senior boy who was drunk."
"Really?" Even though she wasn't one for gossip, Namine was willing to let Kairi tell the story if it meant keeping the topic away from her sketch. "Who was it? Which senior?"
"John didn't know his name, but he had really spiky red hair and super green eyes. And you know how much attention John pays to his surroundings. He doesn't miss very much, and apparently he was sitting with Pocahontas and John Ralph on the other couch. They saw the whole things. Roxas was really mad and stormed out. That's why Sora couldn't find him when we were all leaving."
That surprised her. Roxas got mad enough to storm off without telling anyone? It just didn't sound like the kind of thing the shy blond boy would do. "What exactly did the senior do to make Roxas so mad?"
A few moments went by before Kairi answered, having been too focused on painting her pinky toenail to reply. "According to John, the senior fell onto Roxas' lap and kissed him, then when Roxas tried to push him away the senior pulled him onto himself and licked his neck. Then Roxas yelled at him and ran out."
Oh. If that was what happened, Namine could definitely see Roxas getting upset. If that sort of thing had happened to her, she'd have ran all the way back to her room and hid under the blankets. "Poor Roxas. I'd be mad, too."
"No you wouldn't, Mi-Mi," the redhead teased, painting her last toenail. "You'd blush and mumble and talk your way out of it then go hide in a corner somewhere because you'd be so embarrassed that people saw."
Namine stuck her tongue out at her cousin, making the other girl giggle, then turned her attention to a sketch of a rose she'd been working on but had yet to finish. A rose, at least, she didn't have to worry about hiding from everyone else. No one would question a drawing of a flower.