AN: Another chapter?! SO SOON?! Honestly, I've been doing pretty much nothing but writing this as we prepare to move (again...ugh, our upstairs neighbors are AWFUL) and Leather is getting back into her Matt-groove (we should have a new Punch Drunk love chapter up soonish, I hope...we're sorry for that).
I seriously hope you guys like this because I've become sort of consumed with this and UFF I love Kingdom Hearts (and AkuRoku, and Soriku, and Zemyx, and UFFF). Ahem. Yes. So.
Onward.
As always, reviews are amazing and lovely and thank you in advance if you do. If you ever have questions or write something particularly interesting, we (read: I) try to reply. So if you get a random PM from me, don't worry. :D
OKAY SHUTTING UP. PLEASE ENJOY. I LOVE YOU ALL. HAVE SOME HILARITY BECAUSE ROXAS IS MADE OF ANGST AND SNARK.
Cheers,
Stripes
.:Track II:.
"Crushed"
xxx
There are four guys in the band, hideously known as 'Flameo and the Hotmen'. Yeah, he thought it was a joke too. It's not. He thinks he should think 'people' instead of 'guys' because of the girl on keyboard, but she seems like more of a man than the blond on guitar, so he sticks with 'guys'. They're really a strange assortment of people, if he's completely honest with himself, and Axel is probably the most sane. Which is saying something.
The blond guitarist is named Demyx, or at least that's what the band's facebook page says because, again, not a stalker. Just researching. And, according to research and observation, Demyx and Axel have been best friends since pretty much ever, but that doesn't mean that they don't act like they hate each other like a bitter old couple. Which they aren't. He checked. Roxas gets the feeling that Demyx is very much trying to go for some sort of punk rock look, but got distracted by a beach bum and decided to just fuse the two. And, shockingly, it sort of works for him. Even the faux-hawk. Demyx just also happens to be that loud blond moron from the party that broke up his little adventure in the closet. Not that Roxas is resentful or anything.
Their drummer is a surly guy with blue hair and a wicked scowl, and Roxas has never heard him speak in the past week and a half he's been visiting the lounge, but he imagines it would be terrifying, mainly because he's seen how berserk the guy goes when drumming. He goes by Saïx, and without a doubt hates everything. Well, except maybe his bandmates. On occasion.
The blond girl on keyboard is, in a word, a bitch. And really, he means that in the nicest possible way because she is loud and catty and has bitch slapped nearly everyone in the band six times. But she's pretty, sings well, and the other guys probably deserve it. Okay, so maybe she's not a bitch. He makes a mental note that Larxene is not a bitch.
And then there's Axel, being all stupid and beautiful with his fitted dark jeans and gray v-neck shirt that covers four of the eight tattoos he's seen inked onto the redhead's arms at various points over the past eleven days. With his stupid hair that looks like he dunks his head in hair gel and then jumps on a motorcycle and races down the street so that it just stays that way. Roxas really wouldn't put it past him. The guy has two little tattoos on his face, so seriously, he might do anything.
Oblivion is a quarter mile off campus and Roxas thinks whoever named the lounge was trying to go for something mysterious and sexy when in reality it just sounds emo. And really, if they were trying to go for sexy, they should have steered clear of Flameo and the Hotmen because they play the exact opposite of lounge music. They are loud and nothing near ambient and the sexiest you could get to any of their songs would be if you were having a seizure in the middle of the dance floor and happened to rub against a few people on your way to the floor. But really, they're not bad.
And Roxas maintains it has nothing to do with Axel as their singer.
He feels pathetic about his not-stalking the redhead. Not because he's stalking, which he's pretty sure everyone and their grandmother would agree that yes he is, but because of how good at not-stalking he's become. He takes the same table in the back corner every night, spreads his papers and notebooks out, orders a rum and coke, followed by an amaretto sour, and waits. Roxas probably feels the most pathetic because Axel hasn't noticed him yet. Which is extremely irritating considering he's been not-stalking him every night the band has played since he found their schedule on facebook.
The first time he showed up it was really just to see if he had been completely hallucinating about the redheaded stranger at the party. He hadn't been, and seeing Axel sober almost made everything worse because he was still a total moron, too sly for his own good, and ridiculously gorgeous. He kept coming back every night because maybe he would see him, recognize him, finish what he'd started, anything. Roxas didn't know why, and that continued to piss him off each night that he came back.
Which is why he's still sitting at his table, books neatly organized back in his laptop bag, easily five drinks under the table, and silently begging for emerald eyes to find his because this is their last song of the night.
And that's exactly when they do.
Hayner is, what Roxas likes to call, a terrific cockblock. He means well, and ever since Roxas came out at the end of high school has been nothing but supportive and held the spot of wingman. Unfortunately, that's a major part of the problem. Not to mention his timing is atrocious.
So Roxas is in the middle of his chick flick moment, Axel is on the last line of their only ballad, eyes fixed on his across the room. Time stands still, all that amazing shit. Enter Hayner.
"You queer little slut!" the other slams his hands on the table, grin perched on his face as he blocks Roxas' view of Axel entirely. Not that he would admit he was staring.
Okay, maybe he would. That's not the point.
Hayner pulls out a chair, eyes too wide and excited for any decent human being after 1am. "How dare you not tell me about your closet love affair. For shame, Rox. And here I was, thinking we were bosom buddies and shared everything."
Well, this is certainly unexpected. "I'm sorry, did you just say closet love affair?"
"Olette heard from Namine who heard from Riku that you were fucking around in a closet at the party last week." Hayner shakes his head, eyes still gleaming. "The audacity! Was it anyone I know?"
Shit. "Does Sora know?"
Wrong answer. The other blond's face lights up like a Roman Candle. "So you were gettin' freaky!"
"No not…not freaky, Hayner," Roxas sits back in his chair, pressing a hand over his eyes with a deep sigh. "It was nothing. Like, a literal no-thing. We were drinking and…" God, this is incredibly pathetic when he has to say it out loud. "Seriously, does Sora know?"
"Ohhhh he knows. Riku told him everything from what I understand," Hayner leans forward, taking the partially drained glass in front of Roxas and throws the remainder back. "You know, if we cramp your lifestyle, we can always get out of your hair and let you cut loose. I didn't know you had it in you, Roxas. Frankly, I'm impressed."
Roxas feels the color rise in his cheeks, wanting desperately to punch his best friend hard enough to dislocate his overused jaw. "You guys are the ones that ditched me! I wouldn't have even gone if-"
"No excuses. It happened. YOLO."
That's it, Roxas is definitely going to beat the shit out of the other the moment they leave Oblivion.
"So what's his name?"
"Doesn't matter," Roxas can't help his eyes following the redhead across the room as he jumps off the stage, unplugging cords and shoving Demyx back into his amp. "It was a onetime deal."
"Is that what he said?" Hayner has to be blocking Roxas' view on purpose because this is ridiculous. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
Hayner turns then and Roxas is really hoping he doesn't put two and two together, but considering that this is Hayner he's feeling pretty confident that he'll never figure it out. "You checking out the band? Window shopping again, and so soon after your little tryst in the closet?"
"Please go die."
"That's harsh Rox, and completely not your style." He turns again, following Roxas' gaze. "Seriously, what're-"
Okay, maybe Roxas isn't being as not-stalkery as he thinks he is because Hayner is grinning like the Cheshire cat.
"Holy shit, you fucked the band."
Roxas throws his head back against the wall, covering his face with his hands and practically screaming into them.
"Well, now, not the whole band. You're not into the gangbang scene, are you? No, you're a one-man kinda man."
"Hayner."
"Now, to find which one…you don't like blonds, so the guitarist is out. The chick is definitely out seeing as she's blond and you…you know, like dick." To his credit, Hayner does yelp when Roxas kicks him under the table. "How about Red, over there?"
Apparently Roxas' split second of silence is enough to give Hayner an answer.
"Hey, Red!"
And this is the moment Roxas wishes he were dead. "Hayner, don't you fucking dare."
"What, I just wanna talk to him, no biggie. I wanna know who my bestie's been messing around with, that's all. Yeah, Red. Talking to you, big guy."
Axel tilts his head to the side, half way through pulling his hair back into a ponytail but crosses the room just the same, a small smile gracing his lips. "You rang?"
Hayner swings himself around in the chair, leaning back and looking up at the redhead with a grin. "You…you are just enormous."
This is not happening because Roxas, to his knowledge, has never evoked the wrath of any deity and that was the only way anything this horrible could be happening right now. He's too drunk, obviously he is too drunk and this is clearly a staged intervention to prove to him that he needs to stop drinking entirely or stupid, embarrassing shit is going to continuously happen to him.
"Well, thank you. Honestly, you're not exactly my type, but I'm flattered. Here for the fans. All five of them," Axel lets out a little laugh and Roxas is really trying to blend into the wall at his back and not let the butterflies in his stomach consume him.
"You're not mine either, trust me. But uh," Hayner shoots a sly grin at Roxas across the table, "what would you say your type is, pray tell? For instance, what do you think of my friend over here? Attractive? Dark-closet-fun-time material?"
God up above, he's never asked for anything in his entire life but please, please kill him now.
The redhead is grinning exactly how he had across the circle in that damn room at that damn party as his eyes fall on Roxas. Slender eyebrows raise, clearly giving him a once over. God, why is he incapable of saying anything when Axel is looking at him like that? Except…
"He's cute. Maybe a little young for my taste, but very cute."
"Thanks, man. You know, I-"
Hayner and Axel are exchanging pleasantries, laughing about something awful Hayner just said, and shaking hands. And now Axel is walking away, and Roxas feels like his stomach has dropped out of his ass. Hayner shoots him a look, eyebrows knit together with concern. "Dude, what's wrong? That-"
"He doesn't remember anything."
"What? What do you mean?" Hayner sits forward, leaning toward Roxas.
"He doesn't remember me or…" he stops himself from looking at Axel laughing with his friends across the room and instead resigns himself to resting his cheek against the table.
"Rox," Hayner drags his chair closer, ducking his head slightly to try to meet Roxas' eyes. "Rox, I thought you said nothing happened."
"Yeah…well…"
"Shit, Rox, did…" his voice drops to a whisper, "did he touch you? Do I need to get the doll?"
Roxas groans against the tabletop. He knows Hayner is just trying to help but God he can be so stupid. Bad timing. "No, nothing like that. I get that he was drunk but…I dunno, I didn't realize he'd pretty much blacked out." He sits up, eyes focused on anything but Axel.
"You sure he doesn't remember?"
"If you were suddenly faced with a person you'd dry humped in a closet, would you acknowledge them?"
Hayner pauses thoughtfully.
"Was it intense?"
"Hayner."
"I'm just asking, sheesh," he holds up his hands in surrender before flopping back into his chair. "But yeah, I would. Want me to beat him up?"
"No."
"Right, you want to do all the beating with regards to him."
Hayner knows Roxas well enough to know when to back down. Either that, or Roxas' glare is much more intimidating than he thought.
"I meant that in the most Fight Club way possible, I swear." Hayner smiles and Roxas cracks a half smile even though everything in his mind is screaming at him to throttle the man across the room until he remembers.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just leave."
"Right behind you."
Roxas slings his bag over his shoulder heads toward the door with Hayner in tow, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder at Axel, who he can hear order a round of shots for his bandmates, and decides that he is definitely giving up drinking.
xxx
Sora is pissed.
This is significant because Sora, bright, bubbly, loved-by-all Sora, is never pissed. Sora does not possess an angry bone in his body. Hell, he doesn't even piss. If anything, a man of Sora's delicate sensibility would tinkle. Not that Roxas would ever say that to his twin, but there it is.
So when Roxas unlocks the front door of their apartment a little before 2am and is promptly thrown against a wall, hands pinning his shoulders and an identical set of blue eyes glaring into his own, he's taken aback.
"And what sort of time do you call this, Roxas?" Sora has his face set in a grimace, and Roxas wishes he could take him more seriously, but it's not threatening. It's adorable.
"Sorry, I was out studying. I was trying to be quiet," he shifts his shoulders uncomfortably against the wall, reaching a hand up and pushing gently against Sora's forearms. Which won't budge.
"Bullcrap, Roxas, I know you were at Oblivion again. Riku saw you go in around nine. You don't need to lie to me," he lets go then, taking a step back with a resigned sigh. "I worry about you, you know."
Riku is going to get a swift kick in the ass. "I know. There's just a band I like that was playing and I thought I could study before they started their set."
Sora fumbles with the drawstring on his pajama bottoms. And Roxas knows his brother too well not to know what's coming next.
"Sora, I'm okay, really…"
"But why didn't you tell me? About the guy at the party?" He's an adult and clearly isn't going to cry, but Roxas sees the hurt in his eyes and it destroys him, even though this is completely stupid.
"It's not anything to tell. I just…I was at a party and-"
"Without me."
Wait. "I'm sorry. Hold on. Sora, are you mad that I didn't go with you?"
He's silent, shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Well…not exactly…"
"Are you serious? I didn't even want to go! Hayner pretty much threw me in the damn car!"
"You could have texted or something."
Jesus, this is so stupid. Roxas throws his head back, sighing in exasperation at the ceiling. "I'm going to bed."
"Were you safe, at least?"
Roxas is vaguely aware that he yelped his brother's name. Vaguely. "Did you really just ask me that?!"
"Roxas, protection is never anything to scoff at. And I heard you didn't even know the guy! What if he had something? What would you do then?" Sora is following him to the door of his room, and Roxas is trying harder than anything to block out what his brother is saying. "What if he had friggin' herpes or something?!"
"Sora!" Roxas slams his hands on either side of his doorframe, knowing he's probably blushing something fierce because he's never heard his brother say herpes ever and it just seems so fucking wrong. "We did not have sex. There was no gangbang or orgy or any of the wild stories that everyone is spreading around. I had a few drinks. I kissed a guy in a closet during a game of spin the bottle. I came home. It's not the crisis you're imagining, I promise!"
"I just get worried because you're my little brother and-"
"You are one minute older than me!"
"And apparently that makes a difference because you get carried away and can totally act out sometimes."
He feels his eye twitch. "Sora."
"Yes, Roxas?"
"Do I have to remind you of the little mud wrestling fiasco from last summer?"
The color instantly drains from Sora's face. "Rox, we said we weren't ever going to talk about that again…"
"Oh, but I have pictures-"
"Stop it!" the brunet claps his hands over his ears, shaking his head wildly.
"Now you're just being immature!"
"At least I wasn't hooking up with some hooligan in a closet!" Sora yells back in a huff, taking a step closer to his brother.
"I don't even want to hear that coming from you! How far exactly did you get your tongue down Riku's throat before you realized it was Riku?"
"He apologized for that! We were both out of sorts, and the whole thing was just a giant accident!"
Roxas hits his forehead against his doorframe and wills himself to breathe because he really he shouldn't have brought that up, but really. He doesn't need to hear this from his brother. "Sora, it was a stupid, drunken bout of misguided judgment. I'm fine." He shoots his twin a look, trying so hard to make his smile convincing. "Pweeaase?"
The corner of Sora's lips quirks upward as he scratches the back of his head. Nervous. Or relieved. "Sorry…Riku made it sound kinda…bad."
Yup, Riku is getting his ass kicked. "Don't listen to him. I'll tell you all the gruesome details from now on, okay?"
"'Kay," Sora pats his brother on the head before shoving it lightly. "Now go sleep, you look like crap."
"Thanks." And just like that, Roxas is as tired as he knows he should have been hours ago. The sight of his bed is heaven.
"Rox?"
"Hm?"
"Is he cute?"
"Goodnight, Sora!"
xxx
