Disclaimer: Same as always, I own nothing except plot of this story.
Comments: ChaosHarbor I am so happy to hear it didn't disappoint you. I am not sure if there will be more Roxas pov, because some chapters like most of this one don't actually take pov, but you still get insight into what some are feeling. You will see more Roxas and Axel moments. TKE yeah, he is.
Thank you everyone that reviewed and thanks to those that read as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 17 The Rumor
"So, Sora, did you have a good time?" Kairi asked in her sweet voice that most guys found irresistible, or so she thought. The two of them had just left the restaurant where they had had dinner. They had sat and talked for a while after finishing their meal.
"Hmm... yeah, it was nice." Sora said. Kairi reached over and grabbed his hand, holding it in hers.
"Good. Then what do you think about the two of us going out, as boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Sora looked down at his feet. He had thought that dinner had been nice, but that didn't mean he wanted to be her boyfriend. He just didn't see her that way.
"I'm sorry, I ..."
"Just think about it some more. We would be good together. Maybe you just don't know me well enough yet." Kairi interrupted. She didn't like where he had been going, she didn't want to be reject by him. The only one who had ever rejected her was Riku and she wasn't going to let Sora do the same. She would get him to say yes. She couldn't have this nobody getting her man.
The next morning, Sora walked into school to have people stopping to look at him. Whispers were exchanged between them as they watched him walk by. Sora didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it. It didn't take long to confirm this feeling.
Riku walked by and instead of stopping to talk like he normally did he just walked by shootting a glare towards Sora as he did. This confused Sora more than anything. He should be happy that Riku hadn't stopped, even that Riku seemed not to like him anymore. Maybe he would be rid of him for good now. But he wasn't happy. What had happened to cause this change so suddenly? Everything had been normal yesterday.
"Sora, man, what are you thinking?" a familiar voice asked. Sora looked in the direction of the voice to see Tidus and Wakka headed his way.
"What do you mean? You sound like I did something wrong."
"Wrong, yeah you could say that. You and Kairi?"
"Huh? What about me and Kairi?" Sora didn't understand what they were talking about. He had only went to dinner with her, why was that so wrong?
"It's all over school that the two of you are a couple, ya." Wakka said.
"What? We are not."
"You sure? Supposedly someone saw the two of you in town last night holding hands and kissing." Tidus added.
"Wait a minute, that's not true. I did go to dinner with her, because she asked me out, but it was just as friends. She did grab my hand, but there wasn't any kissing. And I did not agree to be her boyfriend."
"So that's what happened? But why did you go to dinner with her?" Tidus asked.
"She asked me to yesterday. She was waiting for me at my locker and said she likes me and asked me to go with her. I told her I didn't know about that, so she said it would just be as friends."
"She said she likes you?" Wakka asked and looked over to Tidus. The two of them seem to have a silent conversation between them, confusing Sora even more.
"What? What is it?" he asked his two friends. They both looked back at him.
"It just that, the only one we have ever known Kairi to really like is Riku." Tidus said.
"Yeah, she has always said they belong together and one day he would get tired of playing around with other people and come to her." Wakka continued.
"She has had the two of them married off for a long time. It is a little hard to believe that she suddenly likes someone else."
Sora suddenly understood. Kairi didn't really like him, she just wanted to get him away from the one she does like. Not that he had liked her, but she was trying to play with his feelings to get something that wasn't hers. Smirking inwardly, Sora thought she had picked the wrong person to play with.
"Is that why Riku seemed mad at me this morning? Because he thinks I'm dating Kairi. He glared at me as he went by."
"Yeah, he was pissed when he heard the news. But Riku doesn't give a damn about Kairi. He likes you. That's why he was mad."
"Oh. Will you tell him it's not true? Please."
Tidus smiled and ruffled Sora's hair. "Sure, we'll let him know." Sora smiled in return. That was one problem taken care of. Now he just had to figure out what to do about Kairi.
As Sora sat in first period bored out of his mind like usual, he was surprised to feel his phone vibrating. He was use to this in his old school where Axel would text him during class but no one here had done that. He hadn't even given any of them his number. Sora looked to make sure the teacher wasn't looking before pulling out his phone. He smiled as he saw the text was from Axel.
"Hey kitten, I was going to meet you yesterday but something came up at the last minute. Did you miss me"
Sora type his response, "Yes, what came up" and pressed send. He waited for a few minutes before the phone vibrated again.
"Someone you know came to see me. Roxas."
'Roxas? Why would Roxas go to see Axel?' That didn't make sense. Roxas had only seen Axel a couple of times, so why? Something was going on here. Sora intended on finding out what it was.
"Why did he come to see you" Sora typed to Axel. He glanced up to make sure the teacher still wasn't looking. The teacher was still turned to the board and giving his monotone lecture. Sora did notice that Tidus seemed to be watching him. Sora smiled to Tidus and went back to the phone as his response came back.
"Seems he is jealous of you taking up someones time. Some guy with silver hair." Sora frowned at this. Roxas had went to see Axel because of Riku? He thought some more before typing in his response.
"Can you skip next period, I will call you." Sora once again looked up to see Tidus still watching him.
"Sure. Talk to you then." Axel responded. Sora put his phone up and went back to listening to the lecture. He would find a place to hide out next period and call Axel. Axel should be able to tell him something.
After class Tidus exited the room next to Sora. He didn't ask about Sora's conversation through text, which Sora was grateful for.
"Hey Tidus, can I ask you a question?" Sora asked, turning to look at his friend. Tidus smiled.
"Sure, what is it?" Tidus answered. Sora moved closer to keep the question from being overheard.
"If someone wanted to ditch a class, where would be a good place to go?" Sora asked.
"Depends on which period."
"Second."
"Behind the stage. There is a little area back there that is a good place to hide out, not many people know about it either. Teachers don't check there. The drama club doesn't meet second period so it's a good place to go."
Sora smiled at him, "Thanks."
"No problem. Sora, just be careful you are not seen going into the theater." Tidus warned. Sora nodded in acknowledgment of the warning, then made his way to the theater, slipping in unnoticed.
Sora nestled in between some boxes that were filled with supplies that the drama club used to put on their plays. He was sure that if someone was to look back here they would not be able to see him and he would be safe. He didn't want to be caught by a teacher and get in trouble for ditching class. Sora pulled out his phone and dialed his lovers number. After two rings the call was answered.
"Hey." Axel said as a greeting.
"Hi. I was surprised when you texted me earlier."
"Why? I use to text you during class all the time."
"I know, but you haven't since I moved."
"I didn't want to get you in trouble. I don't know anything about that school. Today I just figured if you would get in trouble you wouldn't answer until later." Axel said.
"My first hour teacher is always facing away from us, so I wouldn't get in trouble in that class. He loves his chalk board way too much." Sora said, giggling slightly.
"Hmm, is that so? I'll remember that. So I take it you wanted to talk about that guy coming to see me, or did you just miss the sound of my voice?"
"You do know how full of yourself you sound, don't you?"
"So what, I just know how much you like my voice."
"Okay, Mr. Conceited, can we go back to earth now? I did actually want to talk to you before you told me about Roxas coming to see you, but let's talk about that first."
"He showed up here after school yesterday saying he wanted to talk about you. Said someone important to him was interested in you. He wanted to put a stop to that. And he seemed to be pretty convinced there was something going on between us, he called you my boyfriend."
"What did you say?"
"Same thing I would say to anyone, you're not my boyfriend. I told him I did chase after you, but you wouldn't go out with me. He didn't seem to believe me though."
"But why did he go to see you? I don't understand."
"Because he thinks there is something between us and probably that I would help him keep you away from that Riku guy."
"He's not the only one trying to keep me away from Riku. But this is stupid, Riku has been coming to me, not the other way around. Even still, I'm the one people attack."
"Attack? What do you mean? Did someone do something to you Sora?" Axel demanded. Sora sighed.
"Not really. There is this girl, I met her my first day here because she was asked to show me around. Ever since then she has ignored me. I didn't really care though all my friends here say I should stay away from her. Anyway, yesterday she suddenly ask me out, saying she likes me. I went to dinner with her last night, but only as a friend. Today everyone at school thinks were dating and I found out from my friends that Riku is the one she likes. She only asked me out to keep me away from him."
"But you don't really care do you? You don't sound like you really like her."
"No, I don't like her and I didn't want to go out with her. But I don't like that she was trying to play with my feelings because she likes Riku, who I've been told by others doesn't like her. I mean, what if I did like her? That would have hurt."
"I see your point. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet, but I don't intend on letting her get away with this."
"I'll try to think of something you can do to return her favor. What's the deal with this Riku guy? I was surprised since Roxas said he has silver hair." Axel asked. Sora thought for a moment before answering.
"We're just friends, if even that. Riku told me he likes me and wants to be more than friends, but..."
"You are having trouble getting passed his hair."
"Yeah. But that's not all. I didn't have the best impression of him before I moved here. He was the one that pointed you and that guy at the club out to me. I felt like he wanted to see me get hurt. Maybe I just jumped to conclusions on why he did that."
"Is that all?"
"No, sometimes he says things that are mean. He also knows about you and me."
"He knows what about you and me?"
"The truth, that we are lovers. He followed me to my session one day, probably to see where I disappear to every other day. He saw me meet up with you and knows we slept together."
"I see. Did you tell him anything?"
"No, I told him it was none of his business. But now he knows I do like guys and tries even harder to get me to go out with him."
"Want me to take care of him for you?"
"No. Sometimes it is annoying and I still say I don't like him at all, but he has helped me in other ways. He protected me when I thought that guy you fought with was going to punch me. I even heard he slammed him against a locker and freaked everybody out because of that."
"So that was what Roxas was talking about. He mention Riku doing that, but I didn't know why."
"I didn't know about it until later that day when another friend told me about it. He said he had never seen Riku like that. But I guess nothing matters now. He passed me earlier and he glared at me. From what Tidus said he was pretty pissed when he heard I was dating Kairi."
"When he finds out it isn't true, it will be alright."
"You sound like you're okay with all this. Like it doesn't matter to you at all if I was to start going out with him and stop seeing you like that. Maybe you would like that, then I would be out of your hair."
"Sora, don't be like that. You are not in my hair and by now you should know that. I just want you to be happy. I also want you to be with someone you really do love. After what you have been through, you deserve that. And I know, even if you try to say you do, that you don't really love me."
"Axel,"
"Sora, I probably know you better than anyone, including Hayner, this Riku guy and most certainly Roxas. I know you are afraid of being left alone. It is that fear that pulls you to me. You started sleeping with me when you was scared I would leave you for someone else I was seeing at that time. But I won't Sora. Even if we stop having sex, I will still be there for you when you need me. I won't let you ever be all alone."
"A- Axel." Sora said as tears started falling. Axel had never said these kinds of things to him. He was touched that he cared for him this much.
"Don't cry, Sora. I didn't say that to make you cry, I just wanted you to know. Figured it was about time you understood. You said you don't like this Riku guy, but is that really true? It sounds to me like you do like him."
"I... I don't know. So much he does leaves me feeling confused. A part of me hates him, but another part questions that. Does that make any sense?"
"Yeah, it does. You are hung up on the past, that he reminds you of. You need to look passed that. Riku didn't do it, you know that, I know. Do I sound like your doctor now?"
Sora laughed, "Yes, you do. I think he said that too. He said I should try being friends with Riku."
"At least this once, maybe your doctor is right. I normally don't agree with the kind of shit those people say, but maybe being friends with him would help you."
"You ever thought about becoming a shrink?"
"No way, I have no desire to sit and listen to other peoples problems and offer them advice. You just happen to be an exception."
"Well, I feel honored."
"You should, I don't do this kind of crap often. Although the last couple of days it seems to more than usual, with Roxas and you."
"So you offered him advice too. And I thought I was special."
"You are. It's just that he said he was the one getting hurt and looked like he was about to cry. I felt a little bad for him."
"I thought he likes Riku. Riku says they're just friends though. I would like to be friends with Roxas but he hates me."
"Of course he hates you. You're stealing the guy he likes from him, even if you aren't trying to or the feelings aren't mutual. If you ask me, it's like he is afraid of losing Riku like you are afraid of losing me. We are people that understand you better than anyone and you don't want to lose that, so you try to make things more than they are or should be."
Sora sighed, "Maybe you're right. Damnit Axel stop that, you're freaking me out. This isn't how you normally are. Not that it is bad, but it's a little scary how much you sound like a psychologist."
Axel laughed at Sora's outburst. He knew that Sora was just joking around with him and that he appreciated the things that Axel had said to him. And the truth was, he was freaking himself out too. This was so out of character for him. He was supposed to be the always perverted, angry one.
"Alright, I'll stop. Just think about it. Okay? You know I'm here for you and that I'll beat the crap out of anyone that hurts you. But you need to figure out what you really want, what your feelings for this guy really are."
"I'll try. Thanks Axel, you're the best. I don't know what I would do without you. Actually I probably wouldn't have made it this long if it wasn't for you."
"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."
"I don't know about that. I better go, we've been talking for a while and I shouldn't skip next period too. Talk to you later, okay."
"Yeah, later."
Sora hung up the phone but didn't move to leave the safety of his spot right away. He sat there thinking about the things Axel had told him. He wondered if Roxas had anything to do with Kairi's sudden declaration that she liked him. He had went to see Axel, so that was a possibility. Maybe he had thought Kairi would help him keep him and Riku apart. Maybe it was time he tried talking to Roxas again.
Sora found Roxas before lunch and pulled him into a nearby empty classroom. Roxas didn't look all that surprised at the action and didn't fight it, much to Sora's relief.
"I talked to Axel earlier, he told me you came to see him."
"Yeah, so what? You understand that by admitting you talked to him earlier you are admitting the two of you are at least friends, something you have denied in the past."
"I understand that. Axel... Axel was there for me through a really tough time. He's still there for me. He knows me better than anyone."
"Then why did you say he wasn't your friend?"
"It was something we both agreed on, to keep our friendship a secret. Axel has a reputation to protect and I didn't want to lose my other friends. My friends don't like him, they don't trust him. I would never hear the end of being friends with him. But I wasn't willing to stop being his friend."
"It sounds like your friends don't really know him. I only talked to him yesterday, but I can already tell he is the kind of person I would want to be friends with. He was very protective of you. He threatened me quite a bit that if I hurt you I would pay."
"You're right, they don't really know him. They never even gave him a chance, but he was okay with that. He didn't like them either. If it wasn't for what happened, him and I probably wouldn't have become friends."
"So why didn't you just dump them?"
"They have always been my friends, I don't want to lose them either. But there are things they couldn't help me with, only Axel can."
"I guess I can kind of understand that. No one wants to lose the people that are important to them."
"No, no one does. Roxas, did you talk to Kairi about me? Are you the reason she asked me out? I heard she has always liked Riku and has them married off, so it doesn't make sense her coming after me."
"Ah, yeah, I'm sorry about that. I should not have done that. I was scared of losing Riku completely, so I told her about him being interested in you. But, after talking to your friend I've changed my mind about that, problem is it is too late. She already knows and I won't be able to do anything to stop her."
"I didn't think you could, I just wanted to know if she found out from you. I'm not really mad at you though, I can understand. It's like me not wanting to lose Axel completely. That's what he said, the we are alike in that we both have someone we are scared of losing."
"Did he say something about being convinced there was more there than really was?"
"Yes, he said that to you too?"
"Yeah, maybe he was right too. Your friend is pretty smart, I didn't expect him to say stuff like that at all."
"It freaked me out. He usually doesn't. I told him he was sounding like a psychologist."
Roxas chuckled at Sora's comment, "I bet he didn't like hearing that."
Sora smiled, "He didn't, he's not big on doctors of any kind. So he doesn't like being compared to one."
"I don't think he liked being compared to Seifer either." Roxas said.
"Huh? Who compared him to Seifer? They're nothing alike."
"I did and they are more alike than you know. Seifer acts like a jerk a lot, but his friends are important to him and he wants what's best for them. He is also somewhat protective of them as well. He can even sometimes be deep. Other than that, they both seemed to like to fight."
"And are quick to anger if you're not their friend." Sora added, seeing the similarity.
"Axel's that way too?" Roxas asked.
"Oh yeah, not someone who's bad side you want to be on. I guess Seifer isn't either, but they're not completely alike."
"No they're not. I would say that is probably all they have in common, from what I have seen. If Seifer was more like Axel you would have already noticed that."
"Yeah and I didn't."
"I guess we have more in common than I thought as well. I'm sorry I've been cold to you and I am sorry about Kairi, if I can do anything to help just let me know. Just please don't make me tell Riku what I did, he'll be really pissed at me."
"Nah, it's okay. I can handle her, no reason for you to have to tell him. But I would like it if we could be friends. If that is possible." Sora said.
"Yeah, I think we can do that. But there is something I want to say." Roxas said, then stopped. When he didn't continue Sora thought he needed a little prodding.
"What is it?"
"From what you have told me and what Axel said, not that he told me anything really, it seems something has happened to you that is hard for you. My friends that you have become friends with are understanding people and will be there for you if or when you want to talk about it. You don't have to go through whatever it is or was alone. No one is going to hate you if you turn out different from how you seem to be."
Sora didn't really know what to say to that, he wanted to believe it was true, but he wasn't sure. He didn't know if that was a risk he was willing to take. Would they really be able to accept him if they knew the truth. They were different from Hayner and his other friends, more like Axel. But even still he just didn't know. He would have to think about it.
"Thanks, but..." Sora stopped.
"Don't worry about it. I didn't expect you to open up immediately, I just wanted you to know you can when you are ready. They will be there for you, that I can promise."
"Thanks, Roxas." Sora said and smiled at his new friend.
Elsewhere, outside the lunch room, Tidus and Wakka had tracked down a still pissed off Riku. The two sat down on the ground beside Riku who shot a glare at them, he was obviously not in the mood for company.
"Look Riku, about that rumor that started this morning concerning Sora and Kairi" Tidus said.
"I don't want to talk about it." Riku said, anger heavy in his voice.
"We talked to Sora, it isn't true, they're not dating." Tidus finished.
Riku's eyebrow went up, "What?"
Tidus and Wakka relaid to Riku what Sora had told them earlier that morning. Including him asking them to tell Riku it was a lie.
"So, that's what happened, huh?"
"We think she found out about your interest in him and that's why she did it." Wakka said.
"That would be like her. I'll have to put an end to this, she went to far. Where is Sora by the way, don't you two usually have lunch with him?" Riku asked.
"Yeah, but we don't know where he is. He was texting someone in first period and then he asked me a good place to go to ditch second period. Haven't seen him since." Tidus explained. Riku sat thinking about that, wondering who Sora had been texting and why he ditched second period.
"Now that isn't something I expected to see anytime soon." Wakka said out of nowhere. Tidus and Riku looked in the direction he was looking. There, walking towards the three of them, was Sora and Roxas, and the two looked like they were talking friendly to each other.
TBC
Two long chapters in a row. I don't know that this will last though. I just seemed to have a lot to fit in these chapters.