The piece the traveling song led up into... I felt like this worked better separate. This is a lot of angst and teenage pain and all that wonderful shit you go through after hitting puberty. Oh the drama. But he did get screwed over, to tell the truth...

EDIT!

You know already. Direct those thanks and love to the proper place:D

:::Somewhere Else - part 1:::

"I was twelve at the time," he began, smooth, light tenor filling up the small cabin richly, "I was in love with a girl named Kairi Wallace, and she was the damn prettiest thing I had ever seen. She had a brother two grades ahead, and I thought that maybe if I could make friends with him, I could get closer to her. Now see here. He was in his eighth grade year, and next year he would be in high school, and I was a lowly sixth-grader. I knew my chances were low, but I had to do something.

"He was a cool enough kid. He kind of impressed everyone 'cause he was only fourteen, but he'd gotten some nasty scars, lost an eye in a car-crash when he was my age back then. I knew everyone thought the whole eye-patch thing was cool, yeah, but I felt sorry for him. There were a lot of things he couldn't do because of it, but I guess he made up for that stuff when he got into shooting rifles. He was actually really good. I thought it was cool, and I had to impress him.

"So that year, I tried to make the rifle team, and I guess I was good enough to get in, but I never really made my niche. I was so pathetic. I could barely hold the gun, much-less shoot it… and that's how I caught his eye, I guess. He saw me struggling along, and well, he figured he might as well help me out.

"I can't tell you how hard he tried to get me on the right track, but I never really improved. He would always just smile and tell me, 'You should join the swim team, kid! You've got the perfect body for it. You'll be like a fish in the water.' I guess I didn't realize what kind of compliment that was…"

--- ---

"So you made the team, bro! Good job! I told you, little dude," Braig laughed, his tone taking that ever-present southern-California surfer sound.

"Yeah! You were right!" Demyx crowed. He'd never felt so superior in his life. "They said I have a good chance of being team captain next year!"

He danced around on the crunchy, sun-baked brown grass happily, skipping circles around his older friend with a huge goofy grin on his face.

"Sweet!" the older boy laughed, smoothing back his shoulder-length black hair, "How about we go celebrate? Just you and me, shrimp."

"Sounds good," Demyx replied, aborting his own celebrations and falling into step beside the older boy. "Where do you want to go?"

"I dunno…" Braig mumbled, coming to a stop and scratching his head thoughtfully, "How about my place? I've got some stuff lying around. I cook better than your mom, I bet!"

"Hell no!" Demyx giggled, mock-offended.

"Hell yes! Now let's get goin' before your mom comes to get you. I'll call her when we get to my house and tell her where you are."

He put both hands on the boy's shoulders, pushing him forward. By the time he'd gotten the blond moving, it became a race, and though Demyx was, by all means, quick on his feet, Braig was faster, leading with massive strides, black hair flying behind him like a pirate flag. His laughter was loud.

"Wait!" Demyx called, "You run like a chicken, old man!"

"You're just jealous!" Braig laughed, pulling his pace back down until they were finally back to a comfortable stroll, Demyx still puffing and panting at that point. The blond leaned up against his friend's shoulder, a broad grin on his sweet face.

"Why didn't you join track? You run like a dog."

"I guess it has to do with this," Braig said softly, tapping the patch over his right eye. "I don't have really good depth-perception any more… and I can't see someone coming up behind me on that side."

"Oh…" It always made Demyx terribly sad to talk about these things, and he hung his head a little.

"Hey… chin up, kid," Braig said softly, throwing an arm over the younger boy's shoulders tipping his chin up with the other hand. His single gold eye glimmered like a Spanish doubloon. "No need to feel sorry for me, little dude. I've done pretty well for myself, haven't I?"

"Yeah…" Demyx said softly, "It's just that I can't imagine… losing something like that."

Braig shrugged. "It's kinda hard at first, but then you sort of get used to it. I reckon people can get used to most things, really."

Demyx stopped and Braig stumbled to emulate. He stared down at the young blond, probably five or six inches shorter than he himself was. "What's up?"

Demyx hugged his friend, burying his face in the older boy's chest to hide his tears. Boys weren't supposed to cry and he knew it all too well. To his surprise, the hug was reciprocated, and more. One hand wrapped firmly around the small of his back, and the other cradled his head gently. He could feel the older boy's chin on top of his head, the press of his lips.

That was the odd part of all of it. He'd never felt someone do that unless…

Braig turned his head, resting his cheek on top of Demyx's soft baby-blond hair.

He had just been kissed by another boy, and somehow, this made Demyx fill with strange warmth. His heart was suddenly pounding in his chest.

"Take it easy, kid. You're shaking like a leaf in a hurricane," Braig said softly.

"I… I've just… never…"

"Been kissed by anyone but your mom, right?" the older boy laughed. "Come on. Lets get going. We've still got a few blocks to walk."

The embrace evaporated and Braig was walking with his casual, long legged stride, hands in his pockets. Demyx took a moment to try and calm his pounding heart and jogged to catch up. It couldn't mean anything. Boys didn't kiss other boys unless they were pansies, and Demyx knew for a fact that Braig was no pansy. How could he be?

--- ---

"So basically, another boy kissed you and you couldn't figure it out?" Axel asked.

"Nope," Demyx replied, "Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Yeah. A little." The redhead shrugged, nodded. "But then, you were really young. How could you know?"

"I just should have. I was always a little slow." Demyx smiled, "Anyway, I should probably tell you what happened after that."

--- ---

Braig's house was a big, ugly Victorian thing, way out of place on a Florida beach-front, but it was close enough to access this little sandbar just offshore where Kairi and he would meet Sora and Riku to play every summer. Demyx was a kind-of-new addition to the group since he'd become such a good friend to Braig, and so Demyx really had made his way into Kairi's life. She even looked to him as a friend, which was the original plan.

The auburn haired girl met the two boys at the porch, waving and laughing, and both jogged up to greet her enthusiastically.

"Hey Eden!" Kairi called happily.

--- ---

"Wait a sec," Axel interrupted, "Eden?"

"Yeah… I had to change my name, you know. So no one would find me," Demyx laughed, a sad little smile on his face, "Demyx was actually a nickname Braig gave me. I gave him one too. We thought names with an 'x' were pretty damn cool at the time."

"Nicknames?"

"Yeah. E-d-e-n, and D-e-n-y-x. He didn't like the sound of the 'n' so he changed it to an 'm' 'cause he said it sounded like 'Da mix'. It was like - one of his favorite techno CDs or something." The dirty blond laughed loudly, "This is a little embarrassing. But anyway, I named him Xigbar. Xiggy for short."

"That doesn't have an 'x'…" Axel mumbled.

"No! No, no, no… not with a 'z'. X-i-g-b-a-r."

"Oh, I get it. So you just kind of rearranged your names and put in an 'x'?"

"Yeah. But my name was originally Eden. People actually started calling me and him by our nicknames, but not at that point. Anyway…"

--- ---

"Hey Eden!"

"Kairi! Hey, you. Been a while, huh?" Eden laughed. "I've missed you. You haven't been in guitar class lately."

"Oh… I had trouble with my hands again," she admitted sheepishly. Eden trotted up the stairs and took her hands in his, trying to keep his blush from appearing at such a moment.

"Your fingers are a little raw… how much have you been playing?"

"A lot," she explained, "But I can't figure out how to keep my calluses from wearing off."

"Yeah," he said softly, "I had that problem before, but it's pretty much non-existent now 'cuz I play so much…"

On a whim, he lifted her reddened fingertips to his lips, kissed them gently and smiled. Kairi blushed hotly.

"What was that for?" she blurted.

"I figured I'd kiss them better," he giggled, blushing a little. "Um, so Braig… how should we celebrate?"

The older boy looked a little distant, rocking back and forth on the big old rocking chair that had been there since any of them could remember. "I dunno… what do you like?"

Eden thought about it.

"How about pancakes for dinner?" the blond suggested, finally.

"Now we're talkin', little dude! Let's do it!" Braig laughed, "To the kitchen with you. You too, Kai!"

They were ushered into the kitchen where both aided an apron-clad Braig in making batter for their dinner. Eden completely forgot about his mother until the phone rang.

"Shit!" the blond cried, instantly contrite when Kairi winced. "Sorry…"

"Go get it, Kai, I'm a little busy," Braig mumbled, folding beaten egg whites into the soupy batter. The older boy liked his pancakes as fluffy as he could get them.

Eden and the young girl trotted out into the living room and Kairi answered the phone with a knowing smile. "Yes, Mrs. Dincht, Eden is here. Would you like to speak with him?"

There was a little pause.

"Okay. He's having dinner here."

Another pause.

"Nine? Alright. No problem."

She giggled cutely.

"Okay, bye-bye."

"What did she say?" Eden demanded as soon as the phone landed in its cradle.

"She said you can stay for dinner, but you have to be home by nine."

"Aww!" he moaned, "It's a Friday! I wanted to spend the night…"

"Well, mom and dad are still at work," Kairi replied distractedly, "But I don't think they would care if you stayed!"

There was a little pause, and Eden sucked in a deep breath, let it out in a sigh.

"Um, Kairi, there's something I need to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"Um… err… I like you, Kairi."

"I like you too. What's important about that?" she laughed naïvely.

"No, no, Kairi… I like like you… Um…" He turned, away, an embarrassed flush burning from ear to ear.

"Oh…" she whispered in shock.

There was a long moment of silence except for the crackling of pancakes of the griddle in the kitchen. "Um, Eden… I'm dating Sora."

His heart sank. "Oh."

"I'm - really sorry…"

"No. You don't have any reason to be. It's fine. Really," and for the first time in his life, Eden swallowed his sorrows and grinned instead. "I'm glad he got a girl as nice as you."

He floated back to the kitchen. Unrequited love could be the single most devastating thing he'd ever experienced.

And Braig had exceptionally sharp ears.

The ate in relative silence, and when they were done and Kairi was telling them about the caterpillar that Riku picked up the other day, Eden quietly announced that he was going to take a walk on the beach. He left with little else to say, slipping out the front door and down the porch. He wanted to feel the water against his skin. He needed it.

The water was as dark and flat as slate, the sky mirrored somewhat on its cold surface. It looked like a storm was coming, but Eden didn't mind. He stripped down to his tight swim-shorts and kicked aside his clothes in a pile, ran and dove into the water gracefully. He swam magnificently.

He wasn't aware that anyone had followed him until he reached the sandbar. At low tide it was mostly exposed, and he was only about ankle deep in the chilly water when he turned to see Braig laboring toward him. He waited, sitting cross-legged on the wet sand.

Braig beached himself and crawled the rest of the way up next to Eden.

"What the hell are you doing? I thought you were going for a walk," he panted, thick black hair sticking flat against his thin neck and shoulders.

"You know, I told Kairi I liked her today…"

"I didn't know you had a thing for my sister…" Braig laughed, but the mirth soon faded. He knew what this was leading to. "She told you about Sora, then?"

"Yeah…" Eden choked. He began to cry.

Braig pulled himself up onto his knees and gently drew his friend into a loving embrace. "Hey, it's alright."

Eden melted like so much candle wax under a hot sun. He sobbed, clutching at the other's bare chest, wishing that he could have what had been denied him. He'd tired so hard and he would tell this, his confidant, how hard he'd really tried.

His mouth moved unintelligibly for a while, until he was interrupted by a strong, warm set of lips on his own. Eden's eyes went wide, but Braig's last remaining was shut, and Eden did the same, unsure of how this all worked. He'd never been kissed. Ever.

Braig pulled the younger boy even closer, his chilled skin heating with the contact. Eden shivered in his arms, he could feel the younger boy's heart pounding against his own chest with nervousness, and he deepened the kiss, gently tipping back the blond head so that he could part those pale lips. Eden was afraid, but he didn't pull back until he felt Braig's tongue in his mouth. He pulled back abruptly.

"Wh-what was that?" he cried.

"A kiss." Braig said simply, "But, if you're uncomfortable… I'll leave you alone."

"No," Eden said softly, "No, I liked it… do it again."

--- ---

"So you got your first kiss from a boy?" Axel said, his voice carrying only the smallest hint of disgust.

"Yeah. Who'd you kiss? Alice May Louis, the girl next door?" Demyx teased, "At least mine was a little exotic."

"Actually," Axel made a face, slightly. "I kissed my cousin who was ten years older than I was… but we'll save that for another time."

Demyx paused awkwardly. "Riiiight. Well, I should probably tell you about Rose now. I met Rose Torri a year later when she moved in, and right then and there, since she was a lesbian, I took her as my cover-girlfriend. It was just to make everyone think I was straight and help protect her secret too. At the time, being gay wasn't really accepted all that well."

--- ---

"Do it again!" the pretty brown-haired, brown-eyed girl laughed. She was beautiful with pale skin and freckles, and she liked other girls.

"Okay," Xigbar agreed, pulling Demyx up to straddle his hips. The thirteen-year-old did so obligingly, locked his lips with the fifteen-year-old pirate.

She loved to watch boys make out.

Xigbar pulled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. He smiled something fierce as Demyx gave a sighing moan, grinding his hips down against the older boy's.

"So, Xigbar, Demyx. What do you two want to do tonight?"

"I don't know," Eden mumbled shakily, dismounting from his companion's hips.

"Let's go to a movie," Xigbar suggested, "I think they're showing Rocky Horror tonight at the drive-in…"

"Yeah, but none of us can drive," Rose pouted.

Demyx nodded in agreement.

"Who ever said that?" Xigbar laughed, "I'm more knowledgeable than you know."