Hey!

I'm very happy that so many people like this story, you guys really rock!

Thanks to: TheFoxGirlKitsune, Mourir, Bubblegum Head, Cavechan, Riku-stalker, Beutelmaus, AliceOfHearts, ChaosHarbor, Ichixrenji-smexy love, kitfoxpup, Gray-Rain Skies and Anonymously Anonymous

Also thanks to all the people who have this story on their alerts or fav list!

Now this chapter was really obstinate. It just didn't want to do what I told it to! I wrote about six pages and then got stuck, so after a few days I just deleted the whole thing and started over. (That's the reason why the update took so long…) And voilá, this time, I like it.

Have fun reading!

Shiruy

Mirage

Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation. - Kin Hubbard

The next three days passed in relative quiet. People still looked at me funnily, I was the new girl, after all, but after I had given up trying to stay polite they finally left me alone. My lunch breaks were spent with Zexion and his friends, although I tried to limit any contact. (And failed. Turned out Demyx was just as touch-y feel-y as Axel, although in a more platonic way.)

Now it was Friday afternoon, school was over and I had a whole weekend of being Roxas to look forward to… and instead of lazing around on the couch or calling Sora I was standing in my room and staring at the mirror. Then at the list pinned to the wall over my bed. Back at the mirror. And held back a wail of despair.

There it was, in black and white, the line that managed to rob me of my good mood in a matter of seconds and quite successfully ruined my day:

3. From the beginning of this bet on, until after the completion of a full month at the local High School, Roxas is not permitted to be seen outside the house in anything but girl's clothes.

Now, one would think that this wasn't so bad. I could just stay inside all weekend and ignore the outside world, right? But… I had to go groceries shopping. We were all out of just about everything and it would be a cold day in hell when Cloud decided on his own free will to go shopping rather than just call a delivery service. (In the time before I learned to cook I had had enough pizza to last me a life time. And no matter what you people say after two months, there is such a thing as 'too much pizza'.)

I could ignore the rule and go out as Roxas… but what if Sora and Luxord somehow found out about it? Photos of me in drag, that's what would happen.

With a defeated sigh I changed into one of Kairi's dark red skirts (Most of my current wardrobe originally belonged to her.) and went downstairs, thanking the gods that Cloud had to work late today. He wouldn't be home until nine and by then, I would be back and Roxas again. (And hopefully stay Roxas for the next two days. I really don't know how girls deal with bras. They're uncomfortable, itchy and unbelievably complicated to get in or out of.)

I grabbed the money Cloud had left on the kitchen counter and left the house. The grocery store was only a ten minute walk away, but it was almost six o'clock and the streets were crowded with people on their way home from work.

I didn't hurry but instead watched the people around me, all rushing to get somewhere. I didn't know a single person and it was almost mind boggling to imagine all these people had names, families and lifes, longer and most likely more complicated than mine. For example that woman over there, was she hurrying home to her daughters? To her boyfriend? To nobody?

It was rather depressing, but at the same time it put things into perspective. I was just one little high school kid, totally unimportant in the grand scheme of things and if I failed this bet and my cousin published pictures of me in woman's clothing, so what? Millions of people couldn't care less about my reputation and my friends… well, they would tease me, but that wasn't the end of the world. (Now you may think 'So why doesn't he just throw the bet and get it over with?' I may have cared a little less about being found out, but that didn't mean I was particularly eager to. And besides, I wanted that car.)

I soon reached the store and got everything I needed, grumbling as I hefted my three heavy bags up. These would be a bitch to get home. I wasn't looking where I was going, busy with trying to get a better grip on a bag that was almost slipping out of my grasp, when I ran into an unexpected obstacle and almost fell over it.

"Hey, look where you're going!"

I stepped back in surprise, assuming I had stumbled over a homeless person or something, and blinked when I looked down into equally startled (and kind of bleary - had he been sleeping on the curb or what?) green eyes.

"Axel?"

A grin lit up his face and he stood up (and towered over me. Curse my shortness.).

"Roxanne! Whatcha doing here?"

Failing at avoiding people from school, apparently. Good thing I hadn't gone out as Roxas. Berating myself for not just apologizing and walking away, I answered unenthusiastically, "Grocery shopping."

He blinked as he noticed my bags, then his smile came back even brighter than before and he took a step closer (although he already was rather close). "Let me carry them for you!"

Uh, what? Before I could protest he snatched the bags out of my hands, laughing as he saw my dumbfounded expression.

"What? Never encountered chivalry before?"

Either he was honestly trying to make me like him or he just wanted to get into Roxanne's pants. I wasn't sure which was worse.

"No, and now give them back. I don't need your help."

He shook his head and dodged my hands, refusing to give me my bags.

"Nope! I said I'd carry them for you so now I am carrying them for you! And no discussion!"

I really wanted to protest, but seeing his mulish expression I figured, why bother? He wouldn't give up anyway and I was just wasting my time. So with a sigh I relented and started walking again, motioning for him to follow me. It couldn't be that bad, Cloud wasn't home yet and I didn't have to let Axel in anyway. And if he somehow weaseled his way in, because that's what I suspected he would do, I could just lock the door to my room and let him watch TV or something. No harm done.

"So, where do you live?"

I didn't answer, just pointed vaguely in the direction in which my house was. I didn't really mean to be rude, but this was just plain awkward. It was okay to sit with Zexion, Axel and Demyx during lunch break, but it was definitely not okay to let one of them into my home.

Even if there wasn't any danger of being discovered today, Axel would think we could be friends, or worse, he could start to really like me. (Although the latter was rather improbable. I hadn't been anything but mean to him. And no, I was not feeling guilty!)

"Uhm, alright…" He obviously didn't like the silence. "It's been rather chilly these last few days, huh?"

He was talking about the weather? Okay, one had to take pity on the guy…

"Yeah, it's a bit weird for May. But it should get better in a few days."

He grinned at my answer for whatever reason, it was boring at best.

"I sure hope so! In this dreary weather everyone is depressed and cranky."

We spent the ten minute walk home chatting about absolutely nothing, but it seemed to make him happy enough, so I guess it was alright.

Upon reaching the small one-family house Sora, Cloud and I lived in, I unlocked the door and led Axel into the kitchen.

"You can put the bags down on the counter."

He did as I had told him to and then looked expectantly at me. Uh, what was I supposed to do now? Maybe I hadn't made it clear before, but I wasn't exactely the best host around…

"Uhm, do you want to… watch TV?"

He smiled easily at me and agreed, and I sighed in relief. We would just watch TV for an hour and then I would kick him out under the pretext of making dinner. Then I would get rid of the girl stuff, really make dinner, and start on my homework. Good plan.

"Okay, just go on ahead, I have to put the groceries away."

"Sure."

I heard him turn on the television and started to store everything away, not really thinkin about anything. I was sort of… stumped. I had never been one to socialize and make lots of friends – that was Sora's area of expertise – and now there was a guy I barely knew (and who thought I was a girl) in my living room.

I wasted as much time as possible and even cleaned up the whole kitchen in order to avoid going into the living room. In the end all stalling didn't help and I slowly stepped into the room. Some random cartoon featuring teens jumping around in colorful costumes was on but I didn't immediately spot the redhead.

Blinking in surprise I walked around the couch – it stood with its back to the door – and found Axel lying on it, fast asleep.

"Err… Axel?"

No response. Not even a twitch.

"Well, shit."

Perplexed and at a loss about what to do I turned off the TV and sat down on the coffee table. What was I supposed to do now? Just… let him sleep?

I remembered that he had looked rather tired when I met him earlier and even now, asleep, he looked exhausted. It was hard to notice when he smiled at you like today was the greatest day to be alive, but he had shadows under his eyes and seemed to be a bit pale, now that I looked closer.

Okay, I would let him sleep. I sighed and slipped down to the floor so that I was sitting in the space between the coffee table and the couch. Who would have thought my Friday evening would turn out like that? I crossed my arms on the table and used them as a pillow, closing my eyes. I was acutely aware of the soft breathing and warm body barely two feet behind me and surprisingly enough, I was sort of… happy. Relaxed.

I wasn't used to being alone as much as I had been this week. Back at Twilight High I shared a room with Sora and my brother made it a point to never leave me on my own for too long. Usually it annoyed the hell out of me that I could never get an hour to myself, but now…

Cloud had classes in the morning and a job at a bar in the evening, and the nights that he didn't have to work he spent with Leon. I didn't want to whine or anything, but the house was just so damn silent all the time, it was starting to drive me a bit crazy.

A quick glance at the clock told me that it was only a quarter to seven and reassured, I allowed my thoughts to aimlessly drift away. I had time…

The next thing I was consciously aware of was the garage door opening with a creak and at first, I just wanted the noise to stop. Cloud insisted on always parking the car in the garage, but he never oiled the stupid hinges…

Wait. Cloud?

Abruptly I sat upright, my eyes riveted to the clock on the wall. Ten minutes past nine. Cloud was home. I was sitting in a skirt in our living room and Axel was still sleeping on the couch. Please insert moment of absolute panic.

With a heartfelt "Fuck!" I jumped up, intent on waking the redhead as fast as possible and shove him out the door, then hide in my room, but I never actually got there. In my haste I painfully banged my knees against the coffee table and stumbled back with another curse, only to bump into he couch and lose my balance.

Before I realized what had just happened I found myself in Axel's lap. At least my landing had woken him up (more like, knocked the wind out of him and shocked him into the land of the living) and now he was staring up at me with a look somewhere between confused, incredulous and amused.

He started to say something but I heard the front door open and lunged at him, putting my hand over his mouth and hissing a quiet "Shut up!"

The unmistakeable sound of Cloud's heavy boots came closer, and in order to hide from my brother I pressed myself as close as I dared to Axel, my hand still clamped over his mouth. (He was surprisingly warm and comfortable. And wasn't it just sad that my hormones took the time to notice that?)

"Rox? I'm home!"

I thanked God, the Devil, Buddha and everyone else I could think of for Cloud's annoying habbit of calling me 'Rox' instead of 'Roxas'. Now was not the opportune time for Axel to find out that the girl lying on top of him was in fact a guy.

"Rox?!"

I heard him walk up the stairs and as soon as he was halfway out of earshot I stood up as fast and as silently as I could. Again Axel started to say something but I interrupted him by grabbing his arm and roughly yanking him to his feet. We had to get ouf of here.

I didn't exactely have a plan, the only thing I knew was that I couldn't let Cloud see me like this, but to Axel I must have looked pretty damn decisive because he stayed silent and allowed me to drag him to the front door without making a fuss. I grabbed my boots – Axel hadn't bothered to get out of his shoes in the first place – and slowly opened the door a small gap, managing to do it without any creaking.

I slinked out the door, Axel right behind me, and soundlessly closed it again, holding my breath and listening for any sounds from inside. Had Cloud noticed us? Or had we really gotten out of there without being discovered?

"Roxanne?"

He spoke in a hushed voice and sounded a bit confused, but instead of answering I motioned for him to be quiet. I listened for another moment, but I didn't hear Cloud. Relieved but knowing that right now, I still could be discovered if my brother decided to leave the house again for some reason, I hastily slipped into my shoes without lacing them up and grabbed Axel's hand, tugging him with me as I started to walk down the pavement.

I only stopped when we were safely two streets away from my house and immediately plopped down on the steps leading up to a random house, exhausted, now that the adrenaline had worn off. Axel settled down next to me.

"So, what was that all about?"

I shrugged and started to lace up my boots, refusing to look at the redhead beside me. I hadn't really thought of an explanation yet, my mind wholly focused on protecting my secret.

"Did you and your brother have a fight?"

I blinked at the honestly concerned tone in Axel's voice and looked up at him, finding him with an unusually serious expression on his face.

"No, nothing like that. He just… he doesn't like strangers in the house and if he had found you snoozing on our couch he would have been less than impressed."

He seemed a bit skeptical, as if he didn't really believe me, but nodded anyway. "Alright. Well, now that we're out here, where do you-"

He was interrupted by my phone ringing and I hastily got it out of my pocket, frowning as I saw Cloud's number on the display.

"Hello?"

"Roxas? Where are you?" Uh oh. He didn't sound happy.

"I'm out with some friends. Why, what's up?" Just stay calm, Roxas. He's not a freaking mind reader.

"I thought we talked about this, Roxas. If you go out you should at least leave me a note or something. What if something had happened to you and I had no idea where you are?"

He had been worried? Suddenly, guilt clawed at me.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I forgot."

I heard him sigh over the phone, a sound somewhere between exasperation and disappointment, and felt even worse.

"It's alright, just make sure it doesn't happen again. Anyways…" His voice took on a decidedly happier note. "Leon will be here soon and he'll, uhm, stay the night."

I practically heard his blush and grinned.

"Are you suggesting that I make myself scarce?"

I sure hoped so, because I couldn't go home. (In case anyone's forgotten – I was still in girl's clothes. I couldn't face Cloud like that, and sure as hell not with Leon there.)

"Err, as a matter of fact, yes. I asked Tifa and she said you could crash at her house…"

Tifa was the owner of the bar Cloud worked in. I liked her, she was pretty funny and always did what she wanted to, but that didn't mean I wanted her to see me in my girl getup.

"You know what? I'll just stay at my friend's house, I'm sure it'll be alright."

I wasn't sure at all, but luckily, my brother didn't know that.

"Really? Well, if anything's wrong you can go to Tifa, understood?"

"Yeah, sure. Have fun and leave the house standing!"

"Oh, shut up. Bye."

"Bye!"

I hung up, the fake smile instantly vanishing from my lips. Oh my god, what mess did I just get myself into? Stay at a friend's house? Hello-ho! I had no friends. At least none I knew well enough to crash on their couch. Well, fuck.

"Roxanne?"

I jumped and stared at Axel in surprise. Right, he was still here. I totally forgot all about him for a moment, lost in my mental panic as I was.

"I'm gonna make an educated guess and say that you don't have anywhere to stay?"

No, duh. I burried my face in my hands and let loose a string of the most creative curses I could come up with. Beside me, Axel laughed.

I grumbled and poked him in the side, aiming to make him shut up, but only eliciting more laughter. Then he scooted closer and laid an arm around my shoulders, pressing me against his side. (I wanted to shrug him off. No, really, I wanted to! The problem was that it was very cold and I didn't grab my coat, so I was freezing my ass off, and Axel made for a surprisingly good heater.)

"Well, as I was about to ask you before your brother interrupted: Do you want to come with me to Demyx'? I'm gonna crash there, and as long as you have no problem with sleeping on the couch, I guess you can stay there, too. I know that Demyx won't mind."

I leaned into Axel's warmth and closed my eyes, knowing for a fact that in less than an hour, I would deeply regret my decision and declare myself clinically insane.

"Thanks."

Roxas just has a talent for getting himself into trouble. And now he's going to crash at a place with two guys he's not even known a week xD I see chaos and awkward situations in our blondie's near future.

Gray-Rain Skies: Again thanks for your long review! And don't worry, sooner or later Axel will be more or less willingly bi. XD

ChaosHarbor: Who knows what Zexion knows? Not even I know, although I really should.

Mourir: Glad you like the Demyx-Axel interaction You'll get more of it next chapter.

Next chapter: Demyx loves Pizza and SpongeBob. Roxas doesn't.

Thanks for reading!

Shiruy

Oh, and I'm sorry the school didn't explode. I decided that I still need it.