Chapter XX

The glass beakers clinked against each other as Zexion hurriedly put everything away. Classes were finished but he was in the chemistry lab making sure he had everything he was going to need for an upcoming experiment. Most of the necessary supplies were at his disposal, though one or two things needed to be refilled. All he had to do was make a list of what he needed and how much of it so that Professor Vexen could order it.

Dark blue eyes darted towards the clock.

Shit! He's probably already there! I don't want him to see me walking in!

The cabinet doors were carelessly slammed shut and the blue-haired senior quickly surveyed the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Professor Vexen might restrict Zexion's freedom in the lab if he left any messes, so only once he was satisfied did he snatch his bag off the counter and leave the room. He wanted to run—no, sprint—to the library, but held himself in check. There was no reason to start a commotion by dashing headlong through the hallways. Besides, he had a reputation to maintain, so he limited himself to a respectable power walk that made it obvious he had somewhere to be and it wouldn't be wise to get in his way.

He couldn't believe how long it had taken him to take inventory of the lab's supplies. It wasn't like he'd been slacking, yet he was over fifteen minutes late getting to the library so he could keep an eye on the junior.

Why am I so upset about being "late"? he wondered, though his pace didn't slow. This isn't even my responsibility. The kid's probably fine. I need to relax.

The senior ignored his own advice and made it to the school's library only a couple minutes later. His gaze went straight to the desk where the junior always sat; there was no one there.

Where the hell is he?

Unreasonably irritated at the blond junior's absence, Zexion stalked through the library. He checked every aisle, every table, desk and couch, every study cubicle. The boy was nowhere to be found and Zexion was starting to feel genuinely worried. Demyx was always at that desk, every day, right after classes, for the last month. Sure, he was occasionally a little late, but never by this much.

Perhaps he's practicing in the music room. That would make sense, considering he's a Fine Arts pupil.

Still anxious, Zexion left the library and headed off in the direction of the Fine Arts Hall. He'd never been to that part of the school, but he was sure he'd be able to find the music room with relatively little trouble.

No. No, no, no! This was not happening! Not again!

A whimper escaped slightly parted lips. Graceful fingers delicately opened shirt buttons, one by one, revealing smooth, pale skin. Hot breaths on flesh created goosebumps as kisses were placed on a neck then down the exposed chest.

Pinned to the wall by the body before him, Demyx tried desperately to pretend he was somewhere else, that he wasn't trapped in that little side hall, that Mister Marluxia wasn't touching and kissing him.

"Please," he began to beg, but before he could get the rest of the words out, Marluxia's mouth latched onto the blond's chest just above his nipple and Demyx moaned without meaning to.

The teacher bit and sucked, not hard, but with the intent to leave a mark. He smiled at the thought of making such a claim on the boy, and licked the fast-forming bruise when he was finished.

"Mister Marluxia—"

He was silenced by lips pressing against his own.

"Hush. Don't worry about a thing, little songbird. I promised to take care of you, and I will."

A hand slid down his chest and tugged at his belt.

"S-stop! This isn't what I want!" In vain, he pushed at the taller man's shoulders.

"Demyx." The word was more of a warning growl, and the blond let his hands drop to his sides. This was why he didn't fight, why he didn't tell. He could protest all he wanted, but anything more than that would get him in trouble.

Mister Marluxia purred. "Good boy."

The words made him feel sick; he wanted to vomit. He hated being treated like a pet the way Mister Marluxia did to him. It had been nice at first, having someone pay so much attention to him and compliment his abilities and looks, but not for a long time. Not now that he was pressed against a wall with a hickey on his chest and hands insistently undoing his belt. Fear kept him in place as his pants were opened, and he closed his eyes against what he knew was coming as tears began to gather and trail down his cheeks.

He whimpered again.

"Get off him!"

Demyx's eyes snapped open as he felt his teacher stiffen. Someone hurtled towards them and crashed into Mister Marluxia, grabbing hold of the pink-haired teacher and violently ripping him away from the blond junior. Confusion and fear and relief all mixed together made Demyx's knees feel weak; they gave out and he slid to the floor, his back still pressed to the wall.

What was happening? Someone yelled and shoved Marluxia…

Cautiously, the blond lifted his head and stared at the scene before him. Mister Marluxia was leaning against the opposite wall, looking angry and offended and holding his jaw as if he'd been punched. Whoever had yelled was standing between Demyx and the teacher, though Demyx couldn't see his face. The stranger had a thin, slender build and was of medium height, though the way he'd thrown Marluxia made it obvious that he was far from weak.

The pink-haired teacher stood up straight and advanced. "How dare you! This is none of your business!"

Despite the protective stance of the stranger, Demyx flinched back and cowered against the wall. He'd never seen the man so angry before.

"It's my business to stop a teacher from raping a student," the stranger growled. A look of shock crossed Marluxia's face.

"I wasn't going to rape him! I would never hurt Demyx like that. I love him." His tone had softened and the blond junior could feel eyes on him, but he refused to meet the teacher's gaze.

"You don't love him." The stranger's tone was disgusted. "If you did, you would stop when he wanted, and wait until he was ready. Forcing him isn't love. Love is hugging him when he cries and listening to what he wants. Love is resisting your own desires because he isn't ready. Love is patient and understanding and kind. Love is protecting him from creeps like you!"

Marluxia's remaining anger faded. "Demyx…?" He was uncertain, almost afraid. The junior forced himself to meet that gaze, and held it until the teacher looked away.

The stranger took a menacing step forwards. "Get out of here, and don't come near him again. Believe me when I say that I have access to every chemical and acidic substance in this school. I know exactly which ones to use to melt your flesh without killing you, just to make the pain last longer. I can easily force you to endure all the pain and fear you ever put Demyx through, and more. If you ever bother him again, I swear, I'll kill you in the slowest, most painful way I can. Now, leave before I lose my patience."

With one last, longing glace at the blond junior, Mister Marluxia turned and walked away, disappearing around the corner. Silence filled the hall, broken only by the stranger's heavy breathing. Demyx was speechless.

Had that really just happened? Someone saved him and scared Marluxia away? Someone cared?

Trembling fingers reached out, but before the blond could manage to form the words to thank the stranger, he whirled around and Demyx found himself face-to-face with him. Gentle fingers wiped the tears from his cheeks then buttoned up the junior's shirt before fixing his pants and belt. Only when the strange boy was satisfied that Demyx wasn't hurt did he lift his gaze and look at him.

"T-thank you," Demyx mumbled, unable to look away from the dark blue eyes despite the fury swirling in their depths. He'd never seen eyes that color before.

"Shut up."

Startled, Demyx blinked. "What?"

The stranger turned away and rose to his full height, his posture stiff and tone cold. "Don't thank me. I didn't do it for you. I did it so that I don't have to waste any more of my time on you. Hours of my life spent keeping an eye on you, and you get yourself cornered. What would you have done if I hadn't found you? I really am curious to know. But then, I'd have to understand why you weren't fighting him, first. Maybe you're just that useless; you can't even defend yourself."

Demyx drew back from the hurtful words, confused. "I…I'm sorry, I just…" The strange boy held up a hand, silencing the blond.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm done, Demyx. You're on your own." Turning on his heel, he left the hallway and went the opposite direction Marluxia had.

Alone, Demyx let himself sink back down onto the floor and stared at the spot where the blue-eyed boy had been. His mind struggled to comprehend everything that had just happened in only a few minutes. Marluxia was gone. He wasn't going to bother Demyx anymore.

That brought a smile to the blond's face. After weeks and weeks of feeling dirty and afraid, he was free.

But who was the boy who had so fearlessly stood up to the pink-haired teacher? Demyx had never seen him before, though that wasn't saying much. He didn't tend to socialize outside of music class, and lately he'd been more quiet than usual even then. That was about to change, now that he wasn't going to have to worry about Marluxia anymore.

Still, he wanted to find out who the blue-eyed boy was so he could thank him properly.

Even if he doesn't want to talk to me, I'll find a way to make him know how grateful I am.

Determined, Demyx stood and ran all the way to the school's front doors, a smile plastered to his face.

"I'm free!" he shouted as he burst outside into the chilly October air. It didn't matter that other students were staring at him like he was a raving lunatic. He didn't care what anyone thought. Freedom was finally his and no one was ever going to take it away again!

XXX

Axel looked at his phone impatiently, checking the time, and then read the note in his hand for what was probably the twentieth time.

Axel,

If you want to fix things with Roxas, meet me by the pool doors at 4pm today. I'll tell you everything you need to know.

-K

It was 4:03, and this mysterious "K" person had yet to show. Just as Axel was beginning to think it was all a prank, a voice sounded from directly behind him.

"Hello, Axel."

The senior turned and stared. "Kairi?"

Smiling, Kairi nodded. "Sorry I'm late." It didn't surprise her that he knew her name even though she hadn't known his until after Homecoming. She did have a reputation as a flirt, and socialized with a fairly large number of people. It wasn't unexpected that he'd heard of her.

Disbelief crossed Axel's face and he held up the note. "You're the one who sent me this?"

"Yep! It wasn't as easy as I hoped, slipping that little bit of paper into your bag, but I managed. So, you want my advice about Roxas or not?"

Even though he wasn't entirely sure about accepting help from the school's biggest flirt—after himself, of course—Axel nodded. "Please."

Kairi smiled and led the senior to a nearby bench, where they sat together. "First, we'll go over why you need my help in the first place. To be completely honest, Axel, you really screwed yourself over."

"I'm aware of that," he said, annoyed. "How do I fix it?"

"You can't fix anything," the redheaded girl countered, keeping her tone calm and collected. "Roxas is convinced you're a bad guy and doesn't even want to hear anyone say differently. You can't blame him, after what you pulled at the party. But Roxas is my friend and if you're serious about getting to know him and being his friend and making up for it, then I'll help you."

Axel leaned closer, earnest. "I am serious! I know I screwed up and I know he hates me, but I really do like him! It's even fine if he doesn't like me back that way. At this point, I'll settle for being his friend. That's all I want."

Smiling, Kairi patted the older student's cheek in a motherly sort of way and pulled a notebook out of her bag. "Good. Now, I've got a list of things Roxas loves, things he hates, things he likes and things that annoy him. We'll go over it now, and you can take it with you to look at. The important thing is to act like you don't know these things. Let him tell you how he feels for himself. The lists are just to give you a place to start when you want to talk to him without immediately getting on his bad side or him becoming annoyed."

She carefully tore a few pages from the notebook. "Roxas is shy, so don't be overly flirtatious or loud. Playful is fine, and even a little bit of teasing won't hurt anything. He's used to those things from his brother, so he should be comfortable with you being that way, too. Don't just hit on him. He was annoyed after working with you in class because you talked to him, but if you persist and prove to him that you don't just think he's cute and really do care about him, he'll come around."

Axel nodded and took the offered pages, scanning the lists. To his surprise and pleasure, he found that he actually had a lot in common with the blond boy he was so infatuated with. Excitement began to replace his doubt that Kairi's suggestions were going to help. It was going to be easy to talk to him about a lot of these things.

"The main thing, Axel," the redheaded girl stated, looking directly into the senior's eyes, "is that Roxas is sensitive, and he's smart. If you're lying or faking, he'll know, and it'll upset him. Be honest. Tell him exactly what you think and feel. As long as you can do that, you should be fine."

Grinning, Axel nodded and carefully tucked the papers away in his bag. "Got it. Honesty and persistence. No problem."

Kairi smiled and stood. "I've got to go, but good luck." She offered her hand, and Axel took it; they shook. "Don't let me down."

The senior stood, towering over her, and winked. "You kidding? With your help, I can't fail."

Giggling, Kairi waved and began walking away. "Good luck!" She didn't hear whether or not Axel replied; she was too busy thinking of what else she had planned for that afternoon.

Right. Ice cream at the boys' room, something Namine and Roxas were going to make for them to try. It should be fun, and talking to Axel had put her in a good mood. She found herself humming all the way up to Roxas and Sora's room.

The scene she found was total chaos.

Namine had turned Roxas' lofted bunk into a fortress and was cheering on the twin boys as they destroyed their room by way of a very violent pillow fight. As quickly as she could so as not to get hit, Kairi climbed up into the loft and settled beside her blonde cousin.

"How'd this start?" she asked, watching Sora and Roxas knock things to the floor as they swung pillows at each other. Despite her disapproving tone, she was smiling.

"Sora was teasing Roxas and saying that the ice cream wasn't going to be as good as when they had it at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, and Roxas challenged him to a duel," the quieter girl explained. "Since they don't have swords, they're using pillows."

"Oh, well, that makes sense."

Namine giggled. "I know, right?"

"What's Tokyo DisneySea?"

"I think Roxas told me it's a resort they went to with their parents a few times. That's where they had it, and Roxas liked it a lot so we made it for our Home Ec. midterm."

Both girls ducked as a pillow flew towards them.

"Too bad we're not there right now!" Kairi said loud enough for the dueling brothers to hear. "At least we'd get some peace and quiet!"

Her words incited a break and Sora and Roxas collapsed onto the brunette's bed, panting from their fight.

"That's true," Sora commented. "But you wouldn't have nearly as much fun."

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Is the ice cream ready or what? I didn't come here to have pillows thrown at me, you know."

"It should be ready to eat," Namine answered her as she climbed down from her make-shift fortress.

"Namine was a lot more excited to make it for you guys than she was to make it for our midterm," Roxas teased, getting up to help her take the ice cream from the little freezer he and Roxas had in their fridge.

"That's because Coach Xaldin gave us an A! Now I know it'll turn out great," she responded, smiling as she remembered seeing the grade on her report card. Both blondes had been very pleased with themselves. Together, they passed ice cream to Kairi and Sora then each took one for themselves.

It wasn't until they'd been eating for a few moments that Kairi realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Riku? I thought he was coming over for ice cream, too." The look on Sora's face at the mention of the older student answered her question.

"He's not allowed in my room," he stated flatly. The results of the fight still lingered; a faded black eye and scabs on his cheek and up and down his arms and legs were visible. Everyone else had fallen silent. "I'm not going to pretend like nothing happened."

"Sora, he's your friend," Kairi said gently, preparing to defend the silver-haired boy. Of course she knew Sora was in his right to be angry, but she also knew how guilty Riku felt about the fight and that he fully intended to make it up to the brunette. Sora, on the other hand, didn't know any of that.

"No, he's not. I'm tired of his attitude and I don't have to put up with it anymore."

"But, Sora—"

Blue eyes glared at her and Kairi let the rest of her sentence go unsaid. She didn't want to upset Sora any more than he already was, and pushing the matter certainly wasn't going to help anything.

You've already made progress with Axel today, she told herself. Let that be enough for now. Riku knows what he has to do to fix this, so leave it alone.

She didn't like it, not one bit. It killed her to watch her friends fight, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Hey," Roxas interrupted, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the dorm, "anyone want to go into town tonight? It's Sora's night off, so we should catch a movie or something."

"Yeah!" The brunette instantly cheered up, apparently forgetting about Riku entirely. "Movie night!"

A round of suggestions for movies followed, though Sora separated himself from the group and went to look out the window, his gaze drawn towards the practice field. He knew Riku was probably down there, and he wished he was, too. As angry as he was about the fight, he couldn't help but miss the older boy. But he wasn't going to be the one to apologize. It wasn't often that he held a grudge, but Sora didn't feel like he should be the one to put in the effort to talk to Riku. Not if he wanted things to change.

Sadly, he almost missed being ignored by the teal-eyed boy. At least then he'd gotten to spend time with him. That was better than not seeing him at all.

Author's Note:

Thank you to X-blade025 for reminding me that I never announced Roxas and Namine's grade for their Home Ec. midterm. You inspired the second half of this chapter.