"Sora, get dressed. We need to go soon."

"No."

Frowning, Roxas put his hands on his hips and did his best to look irritated despite the costume he was currently wearing. "Look, I understand why you don't want to go, but you can't let Riku stop you from having fun. We've been planning this for weeks, and I am not going by myself dressed like this." He was, of course, referring to the King's Jester costume he'd made specifically to wear to the school's Masquerade Ball. "Besides, you're supposed to be Kairi's date. You can't just not show up."

Sora didn't respond, his figure slumped over his desk as he stared out the window. The party had already started—they had a clear view of it, since it was being held in the school's central courtyard—and he and Roxas were supposed to meet Namine and Kairi in less than ten minutes. He hadn't even gotten his costume out yet.

It was silly, he knew, but he didn't feel like going. All he could think about was how Riku had called the dance a waste of time, and he knew that if he went, then he'd spend the whole time wishing the older boy was there. Of course, if Riku did for some reason decide to go, Sora would then spend the entire dance avoiding him. It was a stupid, painful, vicious cycle and he hated it.

Stupid Riku…

Arms wrapped around his shoulders and a cheek nuzzled against his own.

"I miss him, too," Roxas murmured, hugging his twin. As much as he didn't want to admit it, especially after what the older boy had done, he missed him.

Sora sighed, relaxing in his brother's embrace, and smiled a little. "Help me with the face paint?"

"As if I trust you to do it by yourself."

XXX

Nervous but excited and a little impatient, Namine fidgeted with a piece of her hair as she waited with Kairi. The two girls stood just outside the courtyard, listening to the music coming from the dance. They were waiting for Roxas and Sora to arrive so that they could all go into the Masquerade together, but the boys were late.

"There they are," Namine said quietly pointing. The twins were walking towards them from the freshman hall, though the blonde wasn't entirely sure if what they were doing could be considered walking. They both kept tripping and stumbling and clinging to each other as they laughed raucously, the bells on their hats and shoes jingling with every little movement.

Well, they're certainly playing the part, the blonde thought.

"It's about time," Kairi said once the boys reached where she and Namine were standing. "What took you so long?"

Roxas glanced at his twin before replying. "Sora had a bit of trouble with his face paint."

The redhead cast a scrutinizing glance over the twins' matching costumes then smiled, satisfied with their appearance. "You both look fine." She slipped her arm through Sora's. "Shall we?"

Sora gave a lopsided grin and bowed clumsily. "We shall!" Kairi giggled, and she and Sora went into the courtyard together while Roxas and Namine hung back.

"You, uh, look great, Namine," the blond boy mumbled, glancing between his feet and his friend's costume. She was dressed as an angel, snow-white feather wings and all. Namine blushed prettily.

"Thanks. Kairi helped me make it."

Roxas nodded and offered his arm, smiling a little. "We should probably go in before they come looking for us."

Shy, Namine lightly rested her hand on the offered arm and nodded. "Good idea."

The music grew louder as the two friends made their way into the courtyard and joined the throng of students already there. Everyone was dressed up—the Masquerade Ball required a costume for admittance—and Roxas couldn't believe the variety of characters his fellow students had come up with. They all, of course, wore masks to hide their faces.

"How are you supposed to know who anyone is?" Roxas asked, having to put his mouth right next to Namine's ear in order for her to hear him over the music and voices of other students.

The blonde girl giggled. "You can't tell. That's the point."

"Oh." Her explanation made him feel foolish for asking, but he shrugged it off and smiled at her. "Wanna dance?"

"Sure!"

Taking her hand in his own, Roxas led Namine onto the temporary dance floor. The blonds danced together, laughing and talking all the while, glad to just forget about school and have some fun.

XXX

"Do you see them?" Sora asked, going up on his tip-toes in an attempt to spot his twin and friend in the crowd of disguised students. He'd been dancing with Kairi for the past twenty or so minutes, and they had yet to encounter the other two teens.

"No, but I'm getting really thirsty," the redhead replied, also trying to find Roxas and Namine, though she wasn't having any more luck than Sora was.

Turning, Sora smiled at her. "I'll go get you some punch. You keep looking for them."

"But how are you going to find me if I keep looking?" Kairi asked, but the brunette boy had already vanished into the crowd. Shaking her head but smiling, she continued her search for the two blonds.

Sora hummed to himself as he poured two cups of punch, one for himself and one for Kairi. The music so far had been good and he was having a lot of fun despite not having wanted to come to the dance.

"Hey, Sora…"

The brunette froze, the ladle poised in mid-air over the punch bowl as his body tensed. He recognized the voice and instantly knew who it was that had come up behind him, but as glad as he was to hear that voice, he couldn't bring himself to turn around and face the speaker.

Why is he here? Why does he have to be here?

"What do you want, Riku?"

A hand touched his shoulder. "Could you please just look at me?"

Sora flinched away from the touch but slowly turned, his eyes lowered. "What?"

"Come on, brat. Don't make me beg. Look at me."

Brat. Of course, he was still going to use that stupid nickname. There was something different about the way he said it this time, though. It was softer, almost…affectionate. The change sparked enough curiosity for Sora to lift his chin and look the older boy in the face. He blinked, surprised.

Wow…he looks great…

The silver-haired sophomore was dressed like an old-fashioned gentleman, cane and all. He'd even gelled his hair back, and the silver mask he wore made his green-blue eyes seem even more vivid than normal.

Riku smiled weakly, glad that he'd at least gotten Sora to look at him. "See, that wasn't so hard."

With a shrug, Sora looked away again. "So, what do you want?" He could practically hear the older boy struggling to come up with an answer.

"I…I wanted to apologize, Sora."

Surprised, the brunette looked at the other boy again, this time trying to figure out what Riku was thinking, but the emotion in the older student's eyes was impossible to read.

"I really am sorry for what happened," Riku continued when Sora didn't say anything. He looked back at the younger boy intently, trying to show how sincere he was, wanting him to understand. "I shouldn't have said those things, and I shouldn't have hit you. You had every right to be upset, and I'm really, really sorry if it seems like I don't care about you. I do. I care about you a lot, Sora, because I…you're my friend. You're my best friend, actually, and it sucks not talking to you. I know I said you're annoying and immature and a drama king, but it's really impossible to be mad at you. Even right after we had that fight, I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself. It's hell to see you around all the time without talking to you, and I hate P.E. class without having you to compete with."

His face was slowly turning redder and redder behind his mask, he was so embarrassed by everything he was confessing to the boy who was staring at him with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"I haven't even been able to work out on my own because all I can think about is how mean I was to you. Every time I go for a run or anything, I wish I could text you and invite you to come with, and then I think about how you probably wouldn't even answer if I tried to call you, or you'd tell me to go die in a hole or let Roxas answer and chew me out for what I did."

He paused, taking a deep breath after speaking so quickly to get it all out. "So…so I guess really what I mean, Sora, is that I'm sorry, and I…I want to be friends again, and you can hit me whenever I say something mean if you want and I won't do a thing to stop you. Please don't hate me. I…let me try to be as good of a friend to you as you always were to me. Please."

Several moments passed before Sora even realized that his mouth was open, and he quickly closed it, trying to think of something to say in response to Riku's speech. He'd never heard the older boy talk so much at once—usually he was the one doing all the talking while the silver-haired boy listened and occasionally made a sarcastic comment. He wanted to tell him yes, that he forgave him, that he didn't care if Riku was mean to him or if he called him names, that he missed him more than he thought was possible and that he hated not talking to him. But he didn't. He couldn't.

"I…I can't, Riku," he whispered, looking into those teal eyes pleadingly. "I don't hate you, and I want to forgive you, but I'm…I'm scared you'll just do it again, and I don't think I could handle fighting with you like that for a second time."

Riku's shoulders drooped and he lowered his gaze. "Oh…okay…"

God, why did it have to hurt so much to see him sad, even now? Sora bit his lip, wanting to hug the older boy but knowing he shouldn't. "I'm sorry…"

"No, you're right. You have no reason to think I'll be a better friend if you forgive me, but I can try to prove it." He smiled a little, meeting Sora's eyes again. "If you'll let me, I want to earn your friendship back."

Sora smiled and nodded. "I can do that."

Against his better judgment, he went up on the tips of his toes and kissed the older boy on the cheek—thankfully, his face paint hid his blush—then he grabbed the two cups of punch he'd poured and hurried away in search of Kairi, still smiling. Riku looked after him even after the brunette had disappeared from sight, one gloved hand touching the spot where Sora's lips had touched. He was blushing furiously, he knew, but he didn't care. Sora was giving him a chance, and that was all that mattered.

A buzz in his pocket reminded the silver-haired boy of where he was, and he quickly retrieved the cell phone from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. The screen displayed an envelope with "1 New Message" over it and "Kairi" beneath that.

She must have seen the whole thing.

Embarrassed that there had been witnesses to his confession but still too happy about being given a second chance to really care, he opened the message.

That was adorable. Way to go, blockhead, you won yourself a second chance. Don't screw it up.

Rolling his eyes and yet still smiling, Riku quickly typed out a reply.

Stalker. But thanks. Your advice really helped.

He hit send, and Kairi's response reached his phone before he'd even put it back in his pocket.

I know. You're welcome.

XXX

He's got to be here somewhere…damn these costumes! I'll never find him at this rate, Axel thought, annoyed.

Although he enjoyed the school's annual Halloween Masquerade Ball, he was now beginning to realize that the costumes made it very difficult to find someone specific, especially if you didn't know what they had dressed up as. Axel himself had chosen to dress as a Steampunk Gentleman, complete with a gear monocle and top hat, and he thought he pulled it off rather well.

Just as the senior was about to give up looking for the blond sophomore, he felt a hand on his arm and turned, expecting to see Zexion or Kairi. His face darkened in barely concealed disgust.

"Hello, Axel," Miss Larxene purred, moving to stand in front of him. She wore a low-cut red dress with a fitted bodice, the skirt of which consisted of layers of what looked like ripped lace. Her mask was black with fake diamonds and rubies decorating it and colored feathers extending out of both sides. Black gloves covered her hands and arms up to her elbows and large earrings dangled almost to her shoulders. Her entire neck was encased in a monster of a necklace that didn't look like it allowed for much movement. "You look very handsome this evening."

"Thank you, Miss Larxene," the redhead replied stiffly, looking just to the left of his teacher's face.

"Aren't you going to ask me to dance?" Larxene cooed, her voice making Axel want to shudder.

"I'm sorry, Miss Larxene," he began, though he wasn't sorry at all, "I was actually looking for someone, so if you'll excuse me—"

"I know very well who you were looking for, Axel." The woman's voice had dropped to a dangerous whisper and her grip on his arm turned vice-like. "Don't tell me you're still chasing that blond baby. He's just a boy, Axel, and you need a woman. He can't do any of the things I can."

That's the point. He's completely different from you, which is why I love him and hate you!

"I really don't think that's any of your business, Miss Larxene. Now, please let go of me."

Larxene's smile turned poisonous. "It is my business, Axel," she hissed, leaning closer to him. "You're mine, or have you forgotten already?"

The words made Axel's spine go rigid, his self-control turning to iron.

"No, I remember."

"Good. It would be a shame if poor Roxas had to suffer because you had a little lapse in memory."

It was difficult for the redheaded senior to contain himself. He was furious at the woman for even daring to mention the blond sophomore's name, let alone blatantly threaten to harm him if Axel didn't do what she wanted. He didn't think it was possible to hate someone more than he hated Larxene at that moment.

Her smile turning sickly sweet, Miss Larxene put one gloved hand on Axel's cheek and kissed him, her painted red lips pressing against his. The senior froze, letting her kiss him without any response on his part. After a few moments, Larxene pulled away, and her eyes moved to look over the senior's shoulder as something else caught her attention; a smirk replaced the smile and she laughed quietly. Curious as to what she was looking at, Axel turned and immediately wished that he hadn't. Only a few feet away stood Roxas, his blue eyes wide and full of horror at what he'd just witnessed.

Oh, shit…

"Roxas," Axel began, pulling away from Larxene as the woman continued to laugh. He stepped towards the sophomore, one hand reaching out to him beseechingly. Roxas backed away, shaking his head, his gaze still locked on the redhead's face.

"No…" he whispered, his words barely audible. "Stay away…"

"Roxas, it's not what you think!" the senior insisted.

"No!" Roxas turned and ran, pushing his way through the students as Axel followed him.

"Roxas!"

XXX

"Hey, Namine!" a voice called over the music, and the blonde girl turned to see Demyx, Ariel, and a boy named Eric coming towards her.

"Hi, Demyx," she replied, smiling. "Wow, great costume." The junior was dressed as a pirate and looked surprisingly fierce for someone Namine knew to be almost as shy as herself.

He beamed, puffing out his chest with pride. "Thanks! Yours is nice, too."

"It's really cute," Ariel added, her arm linked through Eric's. She wore a blue-green sequined dress that had fins going down the sides and a mask that was made out of sea shells and dried coral while Eric was dressed as a sailor from the medieval times. Namine thought their costumes went well together.

"Thanks. I'm actually looking for a friend of mine. His name's Roxas and he's dressed as a King's Jester. Have you seen him?"

The three students shook their heads.

"No, sorry." Demyx smiled. "Are you having fun?"

Namine returned the smile and nodded. "Yeah, I love masquerades. It's fun to try and figure out who's wearing what costume."

The blond junior opened his mouth to respond, but a quiet voice interrupted before he could.

"Excuse me."

Turning, the four teenagers blinked in surprise to see Mister Marluxia standing there, a sheepish smile on his features. The teacher was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, more specifically in the Phantom's costume for the masquerade scene in the movie. Namine thought he looked amazing, though her attention quickly went to Demyx to see his reaction to the teacher's appearance. Surprisingly, he looked calm and even a little bit pleased to see the pink-haired man.

"Hello, Mister Marluxia," he greeted the teacher, smiling. "Can we help you with something?"

"I wondered if I could trouble you for a dance, Demyx," Marluxia said quietly, his tone and body language betraying how nervous he was about asking. "You have my word that I will not attempt anything dishonorable."

Uh oh, Namine thought, ready to step forward and intervene for Demyx's sake. This can't be good.

Demyx smiled warmly and nodded, surprising her yet again. "Sure."

Obviously relieved that he hadn't been shunned or attacked, Mister Marluxia offered his arm to the junior and led him out onto the dance floor just as the first slow song of the night began to play.

Fury. How dare he? How dare that bastard teacher go near him, and how dare that idiot junior agree to dance with him?

Eyes narrowed, Zexion watched the student and teacher dance from his place by the pillar. He could see their lips moving but couldn't hear what they were saying, though both males were smiling.

If he gets himself in trouble with that teacher again, I'm not helping him. I've done my part.

His gaze remained locked on the pair throughout their dance, and he growled quietly when the song ended and Mister Marluxia had the nerve to kiss the blond junior's hand before walking away.

I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill them both.

Pushing away from the pillar and pulling his surgical mask up to cover the lower half of his face, the blue-haired senior slipped through the crowd of students until he stood just behind the blond. He grabbed the boy's wrist and practically dragged him off the dance floor, ignoring Demyx's startled yelp and continuing to pull him along even while the blond resisted.

"S-stop! Let me go! Who are you? What do you want?" Demyx struggled to free his wrist from the older boy's grip without success.

Within moments, Zexion had forced him away from the dance and pinned the younger boy against one of the many stone pillars that dotted the school's courtyard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the blue-haired senior growled, putting his face mere inches from the blond's. "I didn't stop him from raping you just so you could dance with him like that."

Immediately, Demyx stopped struggling and stared at Zexion in obvious surprise, taking in his Steampunk Scientist costume. "It's you…"

"Yeah, it's me, you idiot. What the hell were you thinking?"

Demyx blinked, unsure of how to respond.

Rolling his eyes, Zexion released the younger boy and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't even believe I'm here. I'm supposed to be done keeping an eye on you, but I can't seem to resist. And you just keep pulling shit like that, making me think that if I turn my back for even a moment you'll get jumped by the Fine Arts teacher or some other lunatic."

"He wouldn't do that," Demyx mumbled quietly, looking up at the older boy. "He knows how much he was hurting me. He just told me he's sorry."

"Sorry doesn't mean shit if you're getting fucked in the ass by your teacher."

The vulgar language made Demyx flinch visibly, and he looked away so that the angry boy wouldn't see the tears forming under his eyes. "I'm sorry you feel like you have to protect me, but I really don't think Mister Marluxia will try to do anything to me after what you said to him. And I'm grateful for your help. No one ever tried to help me before you, even if they knew what was happening." His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, betraying the fact that he was trying not to cry.

Instantly, all of Zexion's anger abandoned him and was replaced with guilt at having upset the person he'd spent so much energy trying to protect.

"Hey, don't cry, Demyx. Seriously. I didn't mean it. You're not an idiot, and I don't really think Mister Marluxia would do that to you. Please don't cry." Shit, what was he supposed to do now? He could handle threatening teachers and it had been easy enough to lecture the blond about being a nuisance, but the moment that kid's lip quivered and his eyes started to water, Zexion was lost. He didn't know how to deal with tears.

"S-sorry," the blond sniffled, hastily wiping at his eyes. "I just didn't think I was ever going to get to thank you for helping me, and then I caused you even more trouble. You must think I'm completely useless."

"No, no, I don't think you're useless, Demyx. I promise."

Hesitant, Zexion pulled the surgical mask down to hang around his neck and cupped the younger boy's face in his hands, lifting his chin so he could look at his eyes. They were green, a darker shade than Axel's, and Zexion thought he could stare at them forever.

Beautiful…

Before the senior realized what he was doing, he leaned forward and kissed the blond, still looking into those eyes as they widened and Demyx's face turned pink. After a moment, Zexion's body pressed against the younger boy and his eyes closed, and still he continued to kiss him, not caring that someone might see or that he'd sworn that he would never let his emotions get the better of him. His tongue slipped out, tasting the blond's lips before slipping between them to gently explore the mouth beyond. To his delight, he heard a soft moan come from the younger student and felt hands grab onto his lab coat

And, by god, his taste.

Zexion didn't think he would ever get enough. He kissed the boy harder, hearing another moan, and opened his eyes to see that Demyx's had fallen shut. That was pleasing and disappointing at the same time—the blond looked like he was enjoying the kiss, but Zexion wanted to see the color of his eyes again.

Jesus, what am I doing?!

Suddenly coming to his senses, Zexion pulled his mouth from the blond's and pushed himself away, blue eyes wide. He was panting lightly, as was Demyx, and the younger boy was looking at him in confusion.

"I…I'm sorry…" he stuttered, shocked and angry with himself for losing control the way he had. Then he turned and fled, leaving Demyx alone by the pillar.

What the hell is wrong with me? I just kissed him, completely out of nowhere! And I liked it!

Mortified, Zexion hurried back to the senior dorm hall and locked himself in his room then collapsed onto his bed, his face in his hands. Now what was he supposed to do?