Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of the characters that are brought up in this fan fiction they are under the strict ownership of Disney and Square Enix. Everything of this story is purely fan written.

Chapter 4: Life Is Cruel, Why Is That?

Aerith lived only ten minutes away from the house as she drove over as fast as she could as she lightly knocked on the front door, only to find it slightly ajar at her touch as she walked in, curious as to whether or not she was going to walk in on something that would need an ambulance, "Roxas…Roxas…Anyone home?" her voice was soft as she called out until she came around the corner, finding him on the floor, sobbing like a small child, "Roxas…what happened to you?"

"…The new guy in class happened to me…" he looked up as the tracks of tears seemed to shine ever brightly in the luminous lighting of the kitchen, "I met the new guy today, and I think…I may not be in love with Namine anymore."

She was confused by his words as she sat down next to him, draping an arm around his shoulders as she pulled him up close to her, "…So, have you told your Mom yet about you and Namine, or even this new upcoming…that you may not be as straight as a staircase anymore?" her words seemed straight and to the point, no hiding the pain of the words, "Hmm?"

"…I don't know if its true yet," he seemed to grow silent as in the ill fated moment, he told her everything that had happened that day at school, even from the before school activity with Namine, "…But after he kissed me in the doorway to shut me up from being an even bigger ass, I felt then…there was something awkward about it, my mind said…this is right…but something in me was screaming that it wasn't…I don't know what is right and wrong with this…"

Aerith was understanding to his situation as she helped him up and turned off the burner, "From what you've told me, it sounds like you've got a choice to make, see if you can make it work out with Namine, or…pursue this red head of yours…" her smile could always smooth things out as she pointed at the chairs in the Dining Room as she set about serving them dinner, "I always had a weird feeling about that Namine…she never really seemed your type. Heck, even when I saw you with the other little girls on the playground when you were a kid even up through where you are now. You never seemed to stay interested in a girl."

Roxas could feel himself growing redder and redder by the minute as his Aunt revealed the deepest secrets about him that he had all but forgotten about, "So, are you trying to imply that I'm really gay, Aunt Aerith? Or are you trying to cover for the fact that Cloud has been hitting on the School Principal and you are just going to let it go?"

"…I'm not implying anything, Roxas, its up to you figure out where you stand in your choice of lovers, and," she shoved a wad of spaghetti into her mouth, "I'm fine with Cloud trying to show Leon he cares, I'm fine with it. He and I, our time together is not as different as the one you're facing with Namine, after the first time we tried to do it…and failed epically at it, he told me about his feelings for Leon."

This was the first time he had ever heard her speak so openly about the fact she was alright with the one man everyone thought was right for her to be hitting on another man, "So…can I ask you something?" he swallowed down a wad of spaghetti as he washed it down, "You don't have answer right away…just, keep an open mind about it."

"What's on your mind?" she leaned forward on her elbows as she listened intently to her Nephew's words.

"…If I do figure out that I'm in love with Axel, and figure out that I am not straight…and my mom throws me out, can I…" her hand stood up as she closed her eyes; it was almost an absolute 'No' to Roxas the moment he saw her react like that.

She softly sighed as she stood up, walked to his side as she embraced him tightly, whispering against his ear, "…You'll always be welcomed at my home, my home is always a second home for you…don't worry. I'll be there for you when the time comes…"

He felt like he might cry all over again as he hugged her tightly back, his words became soft as he mouthed, 'Thank you…'; the night dragged on as Roxas went about his homework, Aerith stayed downstairs watching the T.V., but as the night wore on, she found herself sleeping on the sofa. Roxas' cell phone ringing was the one thing that jerked him from of his half asleep state over his homework; the caller I.D. was typical, a single white Carnation with a small N drawn into the middle of it told him everything.

"Hello?" Roxas' voice was groggy from being half asleep as the peppy voice of his girlfriend came on the line.

"Hey boyfriend of mine, mind if I come over and study with you…I know you could use the help."

"…"

"Roxas?"

"…Actually, I'm about to go to bed, I've been up doing my homework, so now is not the best time."

"Yeah right, I know you aren't ready to go bed without one little good night kiss from your favorite girl" her voice sounded as if she was drunk and giggly; it was annoying to half asleep ears, he wanted to just hang up on her, "So, I'm gonna come over."

"…Are you drunk?" his voice was close to snapping at her over the phone, "If you are, then get your ass home."

A phone slapped shut with an angry string of profanity was heard as it slammed, "Stupid ass boyfriend, won't let me come over and see him, I just wanted one little good night kiss," her speech seemed slurred as she stood up and headed for the boy she had been staying with, for his front door.

"Let up on him, Namine, you know he can't ever give you what I just gave you," the boy's smile seemed cockily happy that he had just banged one of his former friend's girlfriend, "He's just uptight that you push him too far at times."

Her phone connected with the boy's head, "FUCK OFF, TIDUS!" her drunken stupor caused her to trip and the phone to bounce from his head to the wall where it opened, as if by some kind of miracle, her phone called hadn't ended.

"…Namine…we're through…" the familiar BEEP, BEEP, of the phone on the other end hanging up was heard.

"…Crap." Namine felt that she had just ruined any chance with her boyfriend ever again, and knowing Roxas, he would never take her back, regardless of what she said or promised to do to make him suffer.

Tears are only meant for the truly cruel moments in our life, most relationships, when they end, one or both individuals in the relationship would be in tears once the reality of their break up and end of what they had had finally sunk in. For Roxas, that wasn't the case, maybe it was the late night timing, or the fact that maybe, just maybe, he could care less if they were over. He was ready for something else to start; he was ready for a new start, a new chapter in life to start.

His fingers brushed half asleep against his lips, the marks the man had left on him a soft curl of his lips started, "…Maybe, its time I take a jump into the deep in of a new relationship," as much as he was afraid of going through the thought of figuring out whether or not he was in love with a man he hardly knew; he knew somewhere in his heart, it was alright…Maybe, maybe this is really right…

Homework was done and put away into his backpack for the next day as he smashed his alarm clock to go off at the typical wake up time; it had almost become clockwork that he would be crawling into bed to do the dance in the sheets with Namine. Tonight, that wasn't the case, and you know, it never once crossed his mind as he snuggled down into the sheets, tonight, he would dream of something, or someone else tonight. Dreams, they are almost a window to our most inner thoughts, and in Roxas' dreams, he found himself in the same place and positions he had been with Namine, but in his mind, he found himself hopelessly pinned under the red head. The man making his every core feeling scream, filling every place in him, making him tingle with sensations he had never experienced. There was so much flesh apparent in the dream, it seemed so vivid, he could hear the slaps of flesh upon flesh; he could almost feel the slamming pressure and prick of slamming hitting inside of him as he bolted awake in a cold sweat during the cycle of his sleep.

"…Wha…Wha…What was that…?" he had never wet the bed once he had learned to not wet the bed, but for the first time in life, he felt the feeling, but it was a different wet, God this embarrassing…I've just had a wet dream over a guy…

After changing sheets and night clothes, he went off to bed again, trying to not have the same strange, and erotic dreams again; he wasn't sure if this was what was like to be having one's first feelings for a person of the same sex…Just let the morning get here already…

No true thoughts could've been thought as the morning dawned as almost per his request as the alarm clock woke him awake, but the sounds of only his footsteps, and the sight of his Aunt still asleep on the sofa. It was enough to tell him his Mom probably wasn't home at all the sound of her soft snoring through the bedroom door answered it for him. Slipping off to school without letting anyone know he had had the strange accident during the night was the best idea as he slipped down the sidewalk walking towards the town bus stop. School was its normal buzz, but the sight of Namine by herself, no one speaking to her, especially Tidus, made Roxas realize that she had caught on that he had heard the entire conversation.

Her eyes glared daggers in his direction, "What's your problem, boy kisser?" her sneer was enough to send a chill down his spine, but send an alert into his head that somehow she had figured something was wrong with him, "Why don't you and your little boyfriend go make out in a hallway somewhere?"

"What is your problem, Namine? I dumped you on the phone last night because you were with Tidus, and I know you have a history of sleeping around behind my back…where do you get off calling me names like that?" he was trying to not draw attention to himself or the fact that he and Namine had split, "What gives you the right to think I'm into guys?"

His face was barraged by the school newspaper, the front cover plastered with an image of Roxas pinned up against bathroom stall, almost half undressed, making out with an unknown red headed figure, starting to crossing into second base, "Proof enough, rainbow boy?" she was determined to bring him down as he looked around as if it was in a slow motion capture movie as he saw the entire student body had newspapers with the same picture and a plastered up story, "Who is he, Roxas? Who is the queer you're seen rounding and sliding into second base with?"

"…H-He…H-H-He…He's a new student…" his voice was starting to crack, and his face was breaking into a sweat as the room to be spinning around him, he never wanted this to become the way he came out to his friends, "He's not use to the way things are done here, he's foreign, he doesn't know our customs and doing that his way of getting to know people."

Smooth Roxas…like she'll ever buy that; she may be a blonde, but she's not that stupid…

Namine scoffed as she balled the paper up and smashed it down the front of the boy's shirt, "Right, come talk to me again when you've gotten over this stupid Junior High crush, and with a better excuse," it was over, right then and there, even his feeling of being able to stand on his own two feet as everything seemed to dim out around him.

Bells were ringing for students to get to class as were the ones in his own head as he later woke up to the cold feeling of an ice pack against his head, "…Wh…Wh…Where am I?" sitting up only made him dizzy.

"If you weren't passed out you would've been in my office explaining your little bathroom escapade with a fellow male student, Mr. Jacobson," the Principal stood hovering over him, his cropped brunet hair was the only distinctive feature about him, minus the well hidden scar across his face, "Now, care to explain to me in the best way you can without trying to work out of it as to why this was going on?"

He had already been tortured by the photo once and he wasn't up to another interrogation by photo, "…Fine, you want the truth…" he knew there was no point hiding anything from the Principal, he was after all dating the man who had been the only connection to his Father, "…I'm gay, happy?"

It took a few moments for it to sink in, "When did you come to this conclusion, not many people are sure they are actually of that chose of lovers until much later down the road of finding themselves," his eyes softly blinked as he tried to let the words sink in all the way, "Are you really sure?"

"…Do I have to have you call the guy in, make out with him in front of you and the entire student body to prove it?" he was getting angry, and nervously cocky; he didn't want to be talking about it any further then he had to, he was still curious as to the whole idea of being of the choice of same sex lovers.

"No, I won't ask you to do that…but I will ask that you talk to this guy, and lay out what you're feeling about him, and tell him that if he ever wants to go this far again, to make sure that someone from the Newspaper Club isn't spying first…" he sat back sighing, "God, if this got out to the school board…my head would be on the chopping block about allowing one of my own students get away with this…and then my relationship with…"

Roxas cocked his head to the side as he studied him, but it became apparent the man was fearing his own job position and life choice would be threatened if the School Board were to ask if he was running in the same kind of circle as a student, "…Just get back to class."

"Aunt Aerith told me about you and Cloud," he paused in the doorway of the Infirmary, "…I think I can see where I get my life choices from…and I think I'm going to be alright with my choice."

"Roxas…" he called out to him, "…Just be careful, guys like him aren't liable to fall for someone thinking they are the same as him after one makeshift make out session in a school bathroom stall."

Roxas softly chuckled as he ducked out the door as his final words flittered off, hoping to reach the man's ears, "…Unless you count the almost possible makeshift one that was starting on my sofa at my house and then the doorframe of my house the other day…"

"ROXAS!" the man was infuriated now, the students treated him with less then ample respect, but hearing it from someone that was a well known family friend, that was the lowest of the low.

The boy chuckled into the hallway as he made his way off to class without regard for whoever saw the newly plastered smile against his features, it was something that was rarely seen. If anyone ever saw it, it was a rarity like the rarest diamond; his friends noticed the change as well when they confronted him about it at lunch that afternoon, but no matter how they pushed him on it they couldn't get a single answer out of him.

"Come on Roxas, just one little hint as to why this new smile is on your face, stop keeping us in suspense," Hayner was typically the one of the group to act more like a girl compared to Olette, "Why are you smiling so much, what's your secret?"

Olette's glare wasn't stopping the blonde anytime soon as she finally shoved a hard crusted biscuit into his mouth as she eyed Roxas strangely, "There is a new spark to you lately, I haven't seen you like this since the time you were almost going to meet the guy you would claim as your dad," her smile was enchanting, it almost ruined the moment as she, as well as Roxas, remembered what became of that time, "…Okay, maybe not as big a spark as that one time, but there is something about you…"

"Why I should tell any of you, you'll just go running to Namine asking details on what happened to cause us to split and then word will get around about it and she'll make my life a living Hell," Roxas shrugged her off as he went about eating his lunch, but something seemed to be hovering near by as if the individual was sucking him in like he was float and the person's nose was the straw, Why do I have the feeling someone's watching me…and its someone I've run into before…