A/N: Here you go. I had a deadline to meet with this chapter and I met it. I really feel...tired of being pushed into the deadline. D: Anyway, enjoy.

Author of this Chapter: Mamotte Ageru

The Real Chapter 10

Un Plus

This morning had gone over just like any other morning for me. I slept until noon and had a good "Lunchfest". This is what Hayner called the meal you have when you first wake up, but it's too late to be breakfast and just about time for lunch. So it was "Lunchfest." My host brother had even gotten me to say in regular conversation. I remember telling my brother about it over the phone and he just laughed at me and called me a dork. I really need to lose that silly word before returning to France. All of my friends will laugh.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent with me, rolling around on the couch while watching MTV. I love watching reality shows and it helps me stay with what's up in American teen culture. I don't want to go to school asking if my friends "blew wind" or something else just as silly.

While watching, all my thoughts returned to that redheaded boy who confused me so much. I really didn't know what to think about him. Was he interested me in that way? I don't think I'd mind it...Heck, we've gotten along so well the past few weeks that I think being a couple with him would work. I took the ring out of my pocket and rolled it around in the palm of my right hand, just staring at it. I must have been blushing, because I called the attention of Hayner to me unexpectedly. I really would have liked him more if he wouldn't get in my face about the littlest things...literally.

I had to frown deeply when Hayner's face was only inches from mine. He had that sly little grin on his face that just told me that he was going to burst out with something completely absurd. "What are you thinking about? Me naked?"

At that I pretty much paled, all color leaving my face. "Of course not you freaky man child!" I hissed and pushed him a way. He teetered a bit, his calves running into the coffee table.

"Geez. I was joking. Are jokes a foreign concept to you?" Hayner asked, lifting a brow. What kind of remark was that? Hayner could be so rude sometimes...I really hated the slur for the French that some people used. The word Frog. It pissed me off like no other. Why, if I ever knew about someone calling me that I would mutilate them.

"Ha, ha, ha," I said sarcastically. "very funny. Did you not just see me laugh? I know jokes."

Hayner rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine." He took a seat next to me. "But really, what were you thinking about?"

"...Axel is taking me to the Fair today.." I replied softly, still running the ring through my fingers. "I was just wondering if it was...more than a friend thing. He gave me this ring..." I held the ring out for him. He took it and rolled it around before giving it back.

"Well, I have the perfect plan for seeing if it really is a date or not." He smirked and stood. "Follow me to the lair." He said before heading up the stairs. I followed him up, touching the rail lightly as I ran up. The staircase always reminded me of my home in Paris. I have to admit, I do get a little homesick now and then.

When we entered the dirty blond's room I stayed in the door frame. If I ventured further into the depths of that mess I would never come out. Hayner reappeared moments later, holding a pair of jeans.

"These are the lady killers, as I like to call them. Put these babies on and nothing that's attracted to guys will be able to resist you." He held the pants out to me and took them.

"Thank you...it is very kind of you to lend me these. I appreciate it." I smiled at him halfheartedly. These pants looked...really small. I was surprised that someone who ate as much as Hayner could fit into them.

"Non poisson, mon frere!" He exclaimed and gave me a pat on the back. I scowled but he didn't seem to notice. It was great that he was trying to make the cultural barrier between us a little small by learning French but...He got that phrase all mixed up. He said: 'No fish, my brother.' While I'm sure he had meant to say, 'No problem, my brother.' He needed to get his words straight.

I held the pants in front of me as I walked to my room. The more I looked at them, the more I was convinced I couldn't fit into them unless I lathered my thighs in butter...Which wouldn't be a very bad thing if I were trying to be sexy for someone and getting out of pants.

I threw the pair of jeans onto the bed and headed for my desk where the laptop was. I wanted to check on Facebook. It really was just the greatest thing on the Internet for foreign exchange students like me. I could keep up with my French friends, and when I went back to France I would be able to keep up with my American friends.

I checked for who was online, quickly finding my friend Jean Paul on. We all called him Jeanette for his feminine tendencies. He always got mad at me the most because, well...that was a terrible story. We had gotten drunk at a party once and we had gotten a little crazy together. Nothing was penetrated, but lots of sweet goodies were placed on one another's bodies. Ever since he was always trying to get with me, but I never really liked him much after that. He was kind of creepy no matter how cute he was.

A Facebook IM window popped up, Jean Paul having sent me something. I really didn't want to talk to him, but I also didn't want to shun him too much that he thought I hated him. Funny how we don't want people to know our true feelings.

'Quoi de neuf?' He asked, which is French for 'What's up?'

'I'm waiting for my friend to come.' I told him in French.

'Sounds fun..a romantic friend?'

'No, just a friend.'

'That's good. I wouldn't want anyone hitting on my baby.'

'I'm not your baby. I am interested in my friend though so you don't have a chance.'

'So? If you go out with him, you can go out with me and you can have a boyfriend in every country.'

'That's cheating...I'm not sleazy.'

'I beg to differ.'

'Fuck off.'

And then I promptly exited the Facebook window. No way was I continuing to talk to someone who would put me down and expect me to want to date them! Axel was so much sweeter and kinder...I bet if I ran to him, crying about how Jean Paul treated me he would fly to France and kick his ass..Or at least that's a fantasy of mine. Then we would wrestle in my room and he would sex me up real good, using butter to lubricate my thighs. See, I told you butter would be good in a sexual situation.

But that fantasy just made me miss home a little more. Just thinking about my quaint little home in the Latin Quarter, my mother bursting in, asking me to model a dress for her and my brother coming in with his tennis racket, trying to get me to play. A small tear drifted down my cheek and I wiped it away. I was getting all homesick again so I stood and went over to my bed, pulling my teddy bear close and smelling Ven's cologne. Now I was satiated and rolled over, facing the pants. Time to try to get those on.

After wrestling for quite a while I finally pulled the pants on. They squeezed places I didn't know existed, and of course they highlighted places that would draw in any wandering eye. As I looked myself over in the bathroom mirror I decided that the pants made my butt look exquisite. While I stood there, admiring myself I felt a tingle in the bladder area. Ah yes, the art of relieving one's self. I went over to the toilet and pulled down the pants that I had tried so hard to get on. I thought that surely they would be stretched out enough by now that they wouldn't be as difficult to pull back on.

As I finished emptying myself I heard a knock on the door and heard the sound of Catalina greeting him. Great. Catalina was nice, but she liked to slander my name. Not that I cared too much about what she thought about me. I knew a lot of host parents didn't like foreign exchange children. It was mainly the crossing of cultures and of course, different norms for different houses.

I tried to pull the pants back up but failed ultimately. I really needed to get down there quickly. Who knew what Catalina would be saying about me. Nothing good. I let out a gasp as the pants tightened around my thighs again and let out a soft growl. I was going to defeat these jeans!

"Roxas!" Catalina called. She didn't have too much time to spread nasty rumors about me. That was good, but still couldn't get these pants on.

"Hold on!" I yelled back.

"Axel's here!" She called up again. Yeah, thanks Mistress of Captain Obvious, I figured that one out all on my own.

"Hold on!" I called, a bit more testily. I started to yank the pants so hard I was sure something was going to rip off of them. I tried this approach a few more times. It didn't seem to be working. So now I tried the slow and steady approach. I inched it up, bit by bit, and this was working a lot more than the random tugging. I had to let a laugh of relief when they finally reached my hips. I had won! This was very exciting.

I washed my hands before exiting the bathroom and walking down the stairs. I still had to get used to walking in these jeans. There was a very specific way one had to move in these jeans, and I had yet to master that technique. I could see Axel and Catalina waiting for me as I walked down. Why were Axel's hands behind his back? That was a strange way to stand...

"Jeez Rox, how can you breathe?" He asked. He pulled out roses from his back. "For you."

"I am not a big person." I said. I took the roses softly, trying not to blush or smile all silly like. So I bent my head down and smell them. "I do not like red." I stated. This was true, I wasn't a big fan of the red color. "But I love these." This was also true. Just the fact he had gotten them for me made me feel ecstatic.

"Next time I'll get you a different color then, 'kay?" He said. He was grinning and I could feel the happiness coming off of him like radiation. I figured this was a good thing. We would both need to be happy to enjoy the Fair.

"White is the color for friendship and red is the color for love." I explained, remembering what my mother had told me once when a little boy brought roses for Ven when we were children. They had been white roses, so she had told Ven not to worry. The boy only wanted to be friends.

"I see...then next time I'll get you white unless...we end up falling in love." He smiled as he said this. Was he..serious? I gave him a good long stare before deciding he wasn't. I let out a giggle.

"You make funny jokes." I said. Axel wasn't the type to be serious about this, was he? Not that I would have minded if he had been serious, but for now I was pretty sure he wasn't. He still spun my head around with his crazy words and actions.

He reached out and grabbed my hand. Like this, this hand grabbing confused me. Didn't couples usually hold hands? "You ready to go?" He asked.

"Yes." I answered. Anything to get this show on the road and away from Catalina's prying eyes. Surely she was staring at our hands right now, wondering just why, out of all of the children she could have hosted, she got the gay little French boy.

"Be back by twelve." I heard Catalina call after us as we headed out.

We got into Axel's familiar car and headed out. The car always had a nice, comforting smell. Well, it was the smell of Axel's cologne, but it was comforting all the same.

"So why were you taking so long upstairs?" He asked. I tensed slightly at that. He didn't want to know the whole truth, did he? That I had to defy the laws of physics to get these pants on, did he?

"I had to get the pants on." I told him simply. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. He handed me a little pamphlet, showing pictures of huge metal contraptions and people having fun on them.

"This tells you all about the Fair and what we can do at it." Well, duh. "You can pick some things to do." Well, that was good. I didn't want to be stuck doing everything Axel wanted to do. I wouldn't make him do everything I wanted to do either.

I furrowed my brows slightly as I looked at the pamphlet. English was becoming second nature to me, so reading this wasn't that difficult. I was just wondering about what they were trying to explain. Rows and rows of little booths where you could get food? Weird. I finally spotted that looked like what I had once ridden at Disneyland Paris.

"This." I pointed to the picture. "I want to ride the roller coaster." I explained to him. The one at Disneyland Paris had been fun. This should be too, right? Granted, the one at Disneyland Paris hadn't been too big.

Axel just grinned. Maybe he liked roller coasters? That was a good thing then. He was probably experienced in riding them too.

When we got there, we parked in the middle of a huge dirt lot. This was a little odd, I had to admit. It was fine with me. Less asphalt going over animals habitats.

"Alright. Let's get going." Axel said before getting out of the car and helping me out as well. It was flattering that he was being such a gentleman, but I wasn't a girl either. Maybe he really was interested in me. Boys did this to people they were interested in, right?

"Shouldn't we get tickets first?" I asked. Hayner had told me to make sure we got tickets, because that was the only way you could ride the rides. Axel merely nodded before leading me to the ticket booth. There was a disgusting piece of human flesh behind the counter. I believe it was female because of the hair, but other than that it just looked...gross. And that lazy eye it had kept looking at Axel in quite the lecherous way. I scowled deeply. Didn't she get that Axel was on a date?! Or..maybe not a date. I still hadn't figured it out.

"Forty tickets please." Axel said without consulting me with how many I would like. Good. This was the start of my little, "date" test. If he paid for the tickets, it was a date. If he asked me to pay for half of them once we were done at the booth, it wasn't a date.

"There you go hot stuff." She tittered and Axel grabbed the tickets, quickly moving us away from the booth. I was about to punch whatever it was's eyes out! Then Axel looked at me and I made the animosity evaporate from my face. Instead, I decided to put on a confused look.

"Why so many tickets?" I asked. Now was the time of judgment,.

"Well the rides here are like three or four tickets per person. So forty should be a good number. They're also good if we want to play games." He explained to me, grinning all the while. I smiled softly.

"Oh." I said simply. It was a date then. He didn't ask for me to pay for any of the tickets. This was a good sign. At least now I knew how I should be acting.

"Well let's get to the roller coaster." He said, leading me through the crowd towards...an abomination made in hell. There was this huge metal structure that was twisty...and turny. There were also loops and drops and all kinds of nasty things. Not to mention it was gigantic. I could feel the blood run out of my face. My stomach dropped without even being on the coaster. This was definitely not like the one at Disneyland Paris. Axel looked at me. Did he not see the fear in my eyes? "Hey...it's okay. I'll be right here with you." That wasn't very comforting. If the cart flew off the tracks we'd both die. Great.

We got in line and soon we were strapped in and ready to go. I didn't want to do it...but Axel had looked so excited for it. It wanted to tell him to shove off and run off the coaster and he could ride it alone. But there was that small part of me that wanted to seem brave to Axel. So I stayed put, no matter how much my body was shaking.

As we started moving, Axel looked over at me. "Hey...you okay?" We were traveling upwards and almost at the first drop.

"N-no..." I was being brutally honest with him. I wasn't okay. I was terrified. To the point where I didn't want to live anymore! He grabbed onto my hand just as we dropped down.

Even when the ride came to a jolting stop I didn't open my eyes. It was still so scary...I must have squeezed the life out of Axel's hand. He would never hold my hand again. My stomach still felt like it was tumbling on the roller coaster, going up and down and all around. If it could, it would jump out of my throat and run away in terror.
When our vests were taken off Axel helped me off of the roller coaster and as I wobbled, he led me to a trash can. Ah, the trash can. It was a simple invention, but one of great proportions. I grabbed onto the side of the trash can and gave it all of my "Lunchfest." Axel rubbed my back tenderly and it soothed me over. "Just let it all out Rox." He said as I wiped my mouth and stood up straight. It was all out now.

"Sorry..." I told him as the reality hit me. He had watched me puke up my innards after I had wanted to go on that stupid, stupid ride. This was terrible. It was so embarrassing.

"No I'm sorry...It's my fault. Here...Let's get you a drink." He led me through more crowds, me following behind him while my stomach still did some flips.

"It is not your fault." I said once I had caught up with him as we got into one of the food booth's line. "I wanted to go on it. Quit being so nice." He should tell me that I was a girly boy for throwing up after the ride. It would have made me feel a lot better than having him not want to go on anymore rides with me.

"I can't help it." He laughed slightly and handed me a bottle of water. I drank it down, hoping it would settle the raging war that was going on in my stomach. "Roxas...I want to win you a prize."

I quickly swallowed down the mouthful of water I had so that I could reply to him. "Like a bunny?" I asked. I had always wanted one of those cute little rabbits with their button noses and fake whiskers. They were so adorable!

"Like a stuffed animal." He said. I knew that, but I wanted a bunny.

"Like a bunny?" I asked again, hoping it got the point across that I wanted a bunny. Not a little stuffed snake.

"Yeah. I can win you a bunny. Let's go find a booth with one." He said, zig zagging through the crowd once more. Now that my tummy was feeling a bit better, I could keep up with him slightly more. It was still hard. The guy had huge legs.

We got to a booth where there were balloons tied to the backboard and people would throw darts at them to make them pop. I really liked the colors of the balloons...They were all pastel like and beautiful. Axel got a few darts and threw them at the balloons. I was sad to see them pop so quickly, but I would be getting something in exchange for the balloons. That was good.

"Congratulations. What do you want?" The man behind the counter asked Axel. I looked up, spotting the white bunny. Those eyes...they were just speaking out to me.

"The white bunny please." Axel said, grinning a tiny bit. I felt like a five year old, wanting to jump up and down and yell about the bunny. It needed to be handed over faster.

Axel handed me the bun and I pulled it close, cuddling into it instantly. It was the softest thing I had ever felt...that was a bit of an exaggeration but it really was soft. "What are you going to name it?" He asked me.

"Axel." I answered instantly. It would be named after the person who had given it to me, of course. It was only fair.

"Really?" He asked. Did he really need confirmation of this point?

"Yes. Will you spray your smell on it?" I asked him. I meant the smell of his cologne stuff that was always in his car. This way, little Axel would smell like big Axel and I would never feel lonely.

"How do you want me to do that?" He lifted my chin with his finger, staring into my eyes. Well, I wanted him to shake the can up and press the button, firing away at little Axel.

"You know that stuff you use?" I was trying to explain the body mist spray he wore. "The spray stuff...cologne? But it is not as expensive." I blushed a little. It was so hard trying to illustrate what I meant with a little vocabulary!

"Sure. I have some in my car. I'll spray it when we're heading back." He explained and I smiled.

"Okay."

"Let's go get some food." He grabbed my hand and we were off in the crowd again. This time it was better keeping up with Axel; now that he had a hold of me I wouldn't be able to lose him as easily. He led me over to a booth and I instantly wrinkled my nose at the smell.

"It smells like grease." I stated and laughed lightly. It really, really did. Like a big vat of grease just waiting for obese people to swim around in.

"Yeah but a skeleton like me could use some fatty food." He said. Were we really going to have this whole fishing for compliments conversation?

"You are healthy." I poked his stomach. It was nice and thin. And he did have muscle on him.

"But I'm sick looking." He pouted and rubbed his stomach. Yep. We really were going to have the compliments conversation.

"I think you look fine." I smiled up at him. When you encounter this kind of conversation, it is always best to give them what they want and tell them that they are not whatever they claim to be. No matter what you really think. Even though what I said was the truth, it was still a nice compliment.

Axel ordered the cake, sighing. So Axel didn't care what I thought? Maybe I was wrong...this couldn't be a date if he thought my opinion wasn't important. Wouldn't a normal person be happy the guy they liked said he looked nice?

"Yeah fine." Ouch. "But really...I'm not attractive...I need more muscle." He said.

I decided to laugh away the hurt I was feeling. "Who says you need more muscle to be attractive?"

He got the cake and led me over to a table. I suddenly...didn't want to be here anymore. "I do...at least...I'd look better with it."

"I like you just the way you are." I responded. Even if they way he was was just a friend. I had been...so happy that this was a date. It just suddenly brought me down. I smiled, knowing how to mask the hurt I was feeling. I picked off a piece of cake, deciding just to use my fingers when I saw Axel was having a hard time using the fork.

"Thanks." He said off handedly, which stung just a bit more. My opinion really didn't matter to him. I think I sunk a little bit into little Axel on my lap. The rest of the night was going to be terrible like this.

He pushed a piece of the funnel cake in between my lips and into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed. It tasted like diabetes overload. I smiled softly, just happy that Axel was giving me this kind of attention again. I flicked out my tongue, ready to get the last of the powder sugar that was left on my lips, but instead they brushed up against Axel's fingers. It was weird, but this time I didn't mind. I could savor the sweet delights of friendship for now.

"I already had a piece of cake in my hand." I stated. He didn't need to feed me, no matter how much I liked it.

"But I want to feed you." Mm, well then feed me strawberries dipped in chocolate while we lay on the beach, mon ami.

"Oh..." I pressed my piece of cake into his hand. "Then do it again." If he was going to be so nice, then I was going to take advantage of it.

He fed me again, but this time he pushed his fingers past my lips and into my mouth. I let them stay there for a long second while we gazed into each other's eyes. It was almost like a romantic movie. Almost. I pulled back.

"I got your fingers in there." I said, smiling and hoping to pass it off as a joke between friends. Which we would stay. Forever...

"So you did." He grinned softly.

"Should we head to the wheel?" I looked up at the sky, taking in the sunset. Call me biased, but these American sunsets were never as beautiful as the ones I had seen in Paris.

"Yeah...we don't want to lose a spot if the line gets too long." He said. I held onto little Axel tightly as he bounded our way through the herd. At least this way I could hold onto little Axel and big Axel wouldn't grab my hand again and make me all confused.

We got ourselves a nice little cart and we were heading off into the sky. This ride was nice. It was terrifying.

"So...besides throwing up...did you have fun?" He asked me.

"Yes." I answered. No, no I did not. I only found out a depressing fact of life. I pulled little Axel close to me for emotional support. "Very much." Lying was always so hard.

"I'm glad. I was really nervous coming over here." He said. That was weird. I looked at him curiously.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well...I guess..." He started but then the fireworks went off. I didn't want him to tell me all about how he might have given me the wrong idea so I turned away from him to watch them.

"Wow! It is so pretty from up here!" And it really was. All the lights going off with big booms...I had a thing for pretty colors apparently.

"It's...kind of romantic...." He said softly, pulling me into his body by my hip.

"What?" I asked. I didn't know if I had heard him right. Romantic? For friends? That would be weird.

He tilted my chin up. Now this was really weird. "What?" I asked again. He really needed to tell me or I would explode.

Then it happened. He leaned forward and our lips met. I blinked, but after a moment I sighed and pressed back. This was better. Now this whole day wasn't wasted on me being so happy it was a date, finding out it wasn't and hating myself. It really had been a date! Was it bad for me to be so happy? He kissed away from my lips and down to my throat, sucking and biting softly. I mewled softly. It felt like my whole body was tingling from this. He pulled back eventually, staring deep into my eyes.

"Roxas...I really...really like you." He told me. I felt like I could just bust open from happiness.

"Oh Axel!" I explained, unable to hold it all in. I kissed him again, lingering for a few seconds before pulling back. "I really, really like you too." I whispered.

We kissed once again as the last firework went off.