Roxas was not proud to say that he was turning into one of the people that he had been prior undermining. Every time he saw Axel, Demyx, or Zexion, he wanted to know more. It was obvious that they were trying to protect some secret. And everyone knows that then someone has a secret, people will do anything to try and figure out what that secret is.

He had even taken it upon himself to go home and do some research. He tried keywords such as "Hollow Bastion, carnival, circus, Axel, etc" in all sorts of combinations. He even added in "freak show" at one point but wasn't surprised when he once again got no help. Besides, they didn't look like any sort of freaks.

However, he didn't mention his curious research to Hayner or he knew that it would be thrown in his face that he was a hypocrite, which Roxas agreed with but didn't feel like hearing it from anyone else. His pride was weird that way.

For the next few weeks, Roxas tried his hardest not to pay any attention to the trio. Most everyone else had died down over the excitement of their arrival and, if they didn't, they most certainly kept it to themselves. Every so often, Roxas would take a guilty glance at one of the three but it never lasted more fore than a second. He did make some other subtle discoveries though.

Whether he wanted to or not, Roxas would find himself eavesdropping on the conversations taking place in the row behind him during home room. From what he could tell, all of their personalities were polar opposites. Zexion rarely spoke, and when he did, it was only a word or two or maybe an agreement. Demyx, on the other hand, never shut up. For some reason though, Mr. Leonhart never got angry for him talking during class. And then there was Axel, Axel was somewhere in between. He spoke no where as much as Demyx but more than Zexion. His voice though…. Ever word that slithered out of his lips were dripping with venom. Even when he was speaking of neutral subjects, it still sounded like all words were uttered with such intense hatred.

Although the three spoke often, Roxas got no exceptionally important information from them. Their conversations often circled around homework assignments or, with Axel, what unfortunate students got in his way that day and were told off only to run away with their tale between their legs.

Every so often the name "Cloud" would be mentioned. He seemed to be some sort of caregiver to the boys. Roxas could take little more from the conversations though.

~*~*~

A new project had been assigned in painting class. They were supposed to paint an animal of their choice in different stages of complexity. They were to start out with the full, detailed animal, and end up with nothing more than geometric shaped vaguely representing the original creature.

A few days into the project, Roxas was daring enough to sneak a peak at Axel's canvas on his way to the sink. It was very good. And it was…. An ant eater…. Definitely not a circus animal. Well this would certainly be no help in his investigation.

~*~*~

Later that same day, Roxas was sitting in the back courtyard overlooking the vast forest that the school foundation was built upon. It was a shame the think about all of the trees that had been knocked down so many years ago to build this place. This place could have been flourishing with wildlife and nature. Instead it was a prison for teenagers.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crumpled package of cigarettes. Only two left… dammit. He'd have to get one of the seniors to buy him another pack after school. He stuck one between his lips and lit up. He took a drag and his head was instantly swimming. Roxas smiled and felt his muscles relax. He had gotten over the fear of getting caught smoking on campus long ago. His euphoria wasn't for long though. The door to his right slammed open and an explosion of fiery locks stepped out.

Axel looked around and ended up looking down at Roxas. The blonde's heart raced in a mixture of fear and fascination. He stood up, ready to put out his cig and go back inside.

"Naw, man, stay," said Axel's gruff voice. "Just out for a smoke. Not gonna be bothering anyone."

Roxas sat back down and took another drag to try and calm himself once again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Axel rummaging though his patch jacket pockets. He mumbled a couple obscenities under his breath and his shoulders slumped.

"Um hey…"

Roxas looked up.

"You got a smoke? I'll throw one your way if I ever run into you out here again."

Wordlessly, Roxas threw him his pack and the one remaining cig in it. Oh well, it was almost the end of the day. He'd make it until he could give a senior his money.

"Thanks, man."

Axel lit up with his own red lighter, made some jumbled comment about them being girly cigarettes, and leaned against the concrete wall behind him, exhaling a heavy cloud of smoke. Neither made a move to interact with the other.

"So," Axel said, his cancer stick almost to the filter. "Circus tent huh? How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"Lucky guess," Roxas replied, being very careful with his words. Careful not to say too much but to be sure to answer the question.

"I know that kid told you about hearing about us in Hollow Bastion. I wasn't in the Hollow Bastion show… but apparently they never took me off the fliers—cheap bastards."

Roxas was completely silent. Finally, he was getting something!

"What's you name, kid?"

"I'm Roxas…"

"Well, Roxas," a ghost of a smile appeared to make it onto Axel's face, but it could have been Roxas' imagination. "You're a good, astute kid. I have no problem with you. I just don't want you getting dragged into any of our mess, alright? Thanks for the smoke."

And with that Axel crushed his cigarette against the wall behind him and went back inside as the bell was about to ring for their break to be over.

~*~*~

A/N: And the plot thickens. Thickens like molasses… I don't know if that's good or bad. It just sounded good at the time. Just so you all know, I won't normally be updating this much in future chapters. For the next few days-week I may a couple times a day because I'm grounded for being a bad girl and have nothing else better to do. Just don't be sore if I don't update as quickly.