"Where the hell were you last night?" An angry Kairi stood in Roxas's door way, arms crossed over her chest as she glared at her soon to be dead friend. Her spare key danged from a lanyard off her wrist.
It was currently ten in the morning and Roxas did not want to be up. His eyes were heavy, begging him for sleep. He didn't go to bed until after the sun had come up. His mind was too busy replaying the night over and over. He still couldn't believe what had happened. Axel had confessed his feelings for him, well he didn't know he was talking to his blond crush, but it's still the thought that counts. But then again, he had fooled around with what he knew to be a complete stranger. And Roxas didn't know how he felt about that.
But the thing that was bothering Roxas so much was how was he going to tell Axel that it was him last night and not some made up student. Should he even tell Axel or just forget about it happening? The redhead would probably feel disgusted and violated. He had drank more than Roxas, what if he forgotten about their little escapades? Roxas could only hope for that option.
"Roxas are you even listening to me?" Kairi gently closed the front door and walked closer to her friend, "You don't look good. But still, you better not bale on work today mister. It's almost time to pay your bills." The wine haired girl pressed her hand against Roxas's head and frowned at the clammy feeling, "You feel like you're coming down with something. But you're not missing work."
"Not like I can afford to miss a day anyway. Thank you for calling me off last night." The blond rolled his eyes at the sarcastic remark. Roxas really did wish he could call off, but he was running low on funds and didn't think he could even afford his rent, unless he gave up eating of course. Maybe he could manage to get a second lunch from school and take it home for dinner, or he could sneak sandwiches from work again.
Kairi smiled and picked up a tired looking Pete off the couch, ignoring his hisses of protest, "Yeah, yeah you're welcome. Now where's your tux? I was gonna go run it back to the rental place with Sora's. Of course, I'm keeping the dress. It was just so cute, no?"
"Sure Kairi." Roxas sighed and leaned against the wall. He could feel his mind zoning out again as he thought of the previous night. Honestly, he couldn't remember what the girl had worn. Was it the yellow dress? No, Larxene convinced her to not get that one.
Kairi rolled her eyes and continued to pet the hissing cat, "Such a boy, should have known you'd forget. Now tux. The shop wants it back in an hour or they're gonna charge me an extra day. Please tell me you washed it." The girl helped herself and went into the bathroom to find the missing clothing, "ROXAS!" A scream came from the bathroom, followed by Pete running out of said bathroom. An angry looking redhead came marching back into the living room a few seconds later, "What did you do?" She fumed. A crumpled white jacket was clutched tightly in her hands.
Roxas gulped as he looked at the clothing. He didn't even try to rinse out the stains after he came home, "Nothing." The blond said with a monotone voice. He technically wasn't lying. Kairi had been vague with her question and Roxas hadn't done anything when it came to clean the dry cum and tears off the suit.
"Nothing my perky ass." Kairi fumed. Her polished nails dug into the white fabric to the point that Roxas was sure she'd tear a hole into it, "They won't take it back like this. I guess I'll have to take it to the dry cleaners and bring it in late. And I know what those stains are, don't even pretend I don't. Those are going to take forever to get out. And I can kiss the deposit goodbye." The girl sighed and stuffed the suit jacket into her bag, "They're going to charge me an extra day, and don't even think you can weasel your way out of paying me back. I'll take Sora's back now so you only have to pay for the one, because you know I'm nice like that." But with her angry, scrunched up face she didn't looks so nice.
"Thanks Kai." Roxas sighed. He didn't know how he was going to pay for the suit. And the thought of Kairi knowing what had happened made a shiver run down his spine.
"So since I'm being so nice, tell me, who was the lucky guy?" The wine haired girl wiggled her eyebrows. Her emotions doing a complete one-eighty, "Come on you gotta tell me. Was it Axel? I bet it was. We all saw Vaan sulking last night, so he must have been turned down again. Maybe for a cute mysteries blond?"
Roxas felt his face heat up, "N-no." Shit she caught him. Might as well confess now, "I didn't even see Axel last night." Dammit.
Kairi rolled her eyes and went back to fetch the rest of Roxas's costume, "Sure Roxas," She called from the bathroom. The girl came back out soon after and gave the blond a knowing smirk, "So was it any good?"
That seemed to make Roxas get even more flustered. The blond ungracefully fell face first into his couch and tried to suffocate himself with a throw pillow. All the air left Roxas with a loud huff when Kairi decided that she needed to sit on the boy's lower back.
"Do you mind?" Roxas groaned through the pillow, "I'm trying to wallow in self-pity and third degree embarrassment here."
Kairi bounced a couple of times on the small body, making Roxas groan under her, "No I don't. Now are you going to tell me what happened or are we going to sit here all day?"
Roxas grit his teeth. He didn't want to tell Kairi, but the girl was relentless when she wanted something. There was only one way out of this, "Did you have any of that punch? That shit had so much alcohol in it. I doubt anyone who had any of it even remembers last night. Everything for me is pretty hazy."
Kairi huffed and gave one last bounce before getting up, "Okay fine. I need to head out and take care of this disaster," She held up the bag holding Roxas's soiled suit, "See you later tonight. And don't even think I'm finished with figuring out what happened. I can tell when you're hiding something." Kairi blew the other teen a kiss before sauntering out the small apartment.
~X~x~X~x~
Roxas groaned for the millionth time as a small toddler flipped its plate of food onto the floor…again. The blond's shift felt to be never ending. Blue eyes quickly glanced at the clock on the wall, watching the minute hand tick by. Good, he only had an hour left.
"Hey Rox," Kairi knelt next to the teen and helped him clean up the mess next to the unfazed parents, "I'll take care of this. There's someone in your section that you should attend to." The girl nudged Roxas with her elbow and gestured towards a table where a lone redhead sat.
Roxas felt his stomach dropped. He wasn't ready to face Axel, "There's no one in your section. Why don't you service him and earn some extra tips?" He hoped Kairi didn't catch the desperation in his voice.
"No, don't give me that look. Go talk to him." Kairi waved Roxas away. Conversation over.
"Fine." The boy moaned as he stood. Like the reluctant teenager he was, Roxas dragged his feet towards the table on the other end of the room, "Hello, do you know what you'd like to drink to-" Roxas felt his voice catch when his eyes landed on the table. There laying in front of Axel was his mask. He didn't even realize he had lost it.
Axel didn't seem to notice Roxas at first and jumped at the sound of his soft voice. He quickly shoved the mask into his backpack and gave the blond an embarrassed smile, "Just water for right now." He fidgeted a bit, his eyes never fully meeting Roxas.
Shit, did he figure everything out?
"Umm...okay. I'll be back shortly to take your order, unless you'd like someone else." The teen's voice got smaller and smaller as he talked, afraid of what Axel thought of him.
Green eyes vacantly blinked at the question, "Why would I want that? You're my favorite waiter here. You never get my order wrong." As much as Roxas would like to believe Axel, the redhead's uneasy smile didn't back up his statement.
"Oh, well I'm happy to hear that." Roxas tried to smile, but he knew it came out forced. He stiffly walked away from the table and towards the back where he saw Kairi waiting for him.
"Well? Did you finally confess your love for him?" Kairi's hands were clasped in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "Are you here to tell me to cover your shift so you can go ride off into the sunset with him?"
"Water."
"Water?"
"He just wants water." Roxas filled a clean glass with the requited liquid, "I…I think I messed up Kai." He sighed and swirled the water around in the glass, "Well, better go give this to him and see if he's ready to order."
"Good luck bro!" The girl tried to give Roxas an enthusiastic thumbs up, but it died along with her smile once the blond walked out of the kitchen area, "Poor boy."
"Here's your water." Roxas carefully placed the glass on the table, making sure to not spill anything on Axel, "Did you figure out what you want to eat yet?" The blond mentally slapped himself at how rude he sounded, "I mean-"
Axel just laughed and handed his menu to the stuttering blond, "I know long day, right? No offence taken. I think I settled on a tuna melt. Extra cheese please."
"Coming right up." Roxas jolted down the order before placing the pencil back behind his ear and going off to place the order and finish checking on the other tables in his section.
With this one act, Roxas felt his day get longer. How on earth was he supposed to function for the next fifty minutes? How was he going to pretend he didn't suck Axel off just last night?
As he walked to the back to give the order out, he felt his face instantly become red. "T-Tuna Melt extra cheese." He stammered out before telling his manger he needed a bathroom break. Kairi staring at him with a knowing smiling didn't help either. Roxas just wanted this day to end.
~X~x~X~x~
Finally, the day was over. And Kairi had a plan. She said goodbye to Roxas and clocked out for the day. On her walk home the girl pulled out her phone. She didn't have to scroll for long until she landed on the person she wanted. The line rang a couple of times before someone answered, "Hey Axel? It's Kairi. I know it's kind of late, but I have a question. I need to fill in some blanks from prom."
"Prom? We didn't even see each other. How could I fill in gaps?" The teen's voice came out almost in a squeak, like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"I just need clarification on somethings. We lost Roxas at some point and we're all trying to figure out what he was up to since he doesn't remember a thing. Spiked punch is a bitch if you're not expecting it."
"Roxas?" Axel's voice sounded a bit guilty at the mention of the blond's name, "What happened to him? Is he okay? I saw him not to long ago and he didn't look too good. Maybe I should call him and see what's up."
Kairi smiled. She knew Axel cared about Roxas, "Yeah, that'll cheer him up. But back to why I called, did you see him at all that night?"
The line went silent for a minute. Kairi was about to ask Axel if he was still there, but the redhead answered, "I didn't see him. I was hanging out with a new student."
"New student? When did that happen?" Kairi stopped walking, as she was fully concentrating on the conversation.
"I'm not sure when he started, but he said his name's Cloud."
"Cloud?" Kairi had to interrupt Axel at that. She knew a Cloud. That was Roxas's father's name. A small smile crept across her face. So Roxas was with Axel last night. She knew it. But why hide behind a fake identity?
"Yeah, he said he's new. We must have different schedules because I've never seen him until last night."
Oh, this was juicy. Kairi was fully amused by what she was hearing. Roxas finally had a chance with the love of his life, and he chickened out. Classic Roxas, "Well I'd like to meet Cloud. Maybe you can introduce us at school?"
Axel hesitated, Kairi could feel the redhead's apprehension over the phone, "S-sure. You know if I can find him." The redhead laughed. Kairi knew she'd never meet Cloud. If Axel couldn't recognize Roxas in a mask, there was no way he'd be able to find the blond's alter ego.
"I'll hold you to it. I should get going. And I'll text you Roxas's number. See you later alligator!" The girl hung up the phone after Axel said goodbye and continued her walk home.
~X~x~X~x~
Roxas thought he was going to have a pleasant night at home, save for his butt of a cat hissing at him, but then he heard several knocks on his door. And only one person would be annoying enough to do that.
"Mom wants to know where you were last night." And there Vaan was, showing up unannounced like always. Roxas had just gotten off work and really didn't want to deal with family drama right now.
"I was at work. Why does it matter to her anyway? I'm not related to her anymore. Can't you two just leave me alone?" The blond went to slam the door in the other's face, but was stopped by a foot blocking his way.
"Now, now Roxas," Vaan forced himself into the room and closed the door, "Mom went to both of your jobs yesterday and both of your bosses said you weren't working that night. You went to prom didn't you?"
Roxas froze. Did Vaan happen to recognize him? He was close to his stepbrother earlier in the evening, "Kairi called me off hoping I'd go, but I stayed here. And what if I did go by chance? What would your mom do? Ground me?" The younger teen shrugged and walked to the kitchen. Done with the conversation. Roxas silently hoped Vaan would take the hint and leave.
Once Roxas was out of site and obviously not coming back for a bit, Vaan decided to do some snooping. And lucky him. Silly, forgetful Roxas left his phone sitting on the coffee table. The platinum blond picked up the hand sized device and found that his stepbrother didn't bother to put a lock code on it. What a silly boy. Vaan opened an unread message by an unknown number, curious as to what it said.
'Hey Roxas. It's Axel. I got your # from Kairi. I just wanted to know if everything's ok. You didn't seem well earlier today. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here for you.'
Vaan had to read the message over twice. He couldn't believe it. How could Axel give this dweeb the time of day? What did Roxas have that he didn't?
Wait a minute...
Vaan froze in place. That blond slut that stole Axel from him last night; it was Roxas! He knew that stalk of messy hair looked familiar. Damn him for not putting the pieces together faster. Damn punch!
Hazel eyes quickly glanced towards the kitchen. Good it looked like Roxas was hiding out until he left. With that in mind, Vaan quickly sent a reply but only to get pissy at how quickly Axel replied. Not only that, but at what it had said. Vaan bit his tongue and resisted the urge to throw the phone at the wall. Instead he sent a reply and a few more after getting some in return. After everything was said and done, Vaan deleted the conversation.
"Well if you're going to be so rude, I'll be going now. Expect Mom to contact you soon. She wants you to come over and make sure you're not dead." There was no reply after words, but that didn't bother the teen one bit. He put the phone back where he got it and left with a large grin on his face.
~X~x~X~x~
"Roxas turn your phone off. That's rude. It's almost like your parents didn't teach you any manners." A woman with chestnut brown hair and matching eyes said in an annoyed voice, "Count your lucky stars you still have me in your life to raise you. Just look at how well your brother is." She smiled over at Vaan with affection.
Roxas just groaned as he shut his phone off and stuffed it in his back pocket. Looks like he wouldn't have any friends to keep him company while he was stuck doing a 'family dinner'. He didn't even know what his stepmother's deal was. When he had gotten off from work the woman was waiting for him outside and said that he had to come to her place. Vaan was sitting in the front seat with a grin on his face that made Roxas feel uneasy.
Against his better judgment Roxas got in the car and was carted off to his old childhood home. He'd just eat then leave. But the dinner was dragging. The blond's stepmother, Rinoa, wanted to know everything that was going on in her stepchild's life.
"I'm sorry Rinoa, but why are you suddenly interested in my life? You've never asked before." The blond looked between the woman and her son, "Something's going on, isn't it? Do you want me to move back in or something for the tax break? Because you can't. I'm in all my legal rights to stay emancipated." He went to stand up to leave but his stepmother spoke up before he could.
"I just miss your father." The woman sniffed and dabbed the corner of her eye with a napkin like there were tears gathering there, "Sorry if I seem strict and uncaring at times, but it's just that you look so much like him that it's hard for me to cope."
The weak demeanor that the woman was putting on would have made Roxas feel guilty. But the blond knew Rinoa too well. His father had been dead for a few years now and the woman had never shown any signs of grief. She didn't even cry at his funeral. What did his father ever see in her anyway?
Something was up. And Roxas knew he needed to get out.
"Well I'm sorry you feel that way, but I really don't need to take the butt of your abuse like I have been because you don't know how to handle your emotions. We're not family anymore so I don't understand why you insist on always being in my life. I'm not your problem anymore and you have your own son to worry about. I'm going home now."
"Roxas, sweetie wait." The woman hesitated while Roxas got up and turned his back on her.
"Whatever it is I don't want to hear it. You're up to something, and whatever it is I don't want to be a part of it."
"I bet you got your selfish attitude from your whore mother." Vaan spoke up from his seat at the table. A bored expression on his face as he watched the exchange, "I bet that's why your father died too. You did nothing but complain when he was gone on tour. He felt guilty and couldn't concentrate. Maybe if you would think of other people besides yourself he would have noticed the ambush before anything could happen and he wouldn't have died."
Suddenly Roxas's world froze. It was true. While Cloud was away fighting in Wutai, Roxas would call him as often as he could or write him letters, most of the time he would be in tears. Living in a house with people who were almost strangers that treated him like an outsider made Roxas feel uneasy and all he wanted was to hear his father's voice, "What does any of that have to do with now? Don't you think I feel guilty enough?"
"Not at all Roxas, dear." Rinoa said with little remorse, "What you did is unforgivable. Now sit down and finish your vegetables." The woman calmly said as she cut a piece of chicken. Her demeanor seemed aloof, not matching the conversation that was happening. Almost like she didn't really care.
"No." Roxas snapped. He could feel tears try to escape from his eyes as his voice trembled to keep even, "I don't need to take this abuse. Leave me alone already!" He stormed off, out into the dark night, cursing when he realized the closest bus stop was over a mile away.
Oh well, it gave him plenty of time to think anyway.
~X~x~X~x~
The next day Roxas groaned as he woke up to the sound of Pete meowing and pawing at his face. Time to feed the fatty. Pushing the cat out of the way, Roxas rolled off the couch. He never made it to bed last night. He ended up walking passed the bus stop, too absorbed in his own thoughts, and ended up making the five-mile trek home.
He was exhausted by the time he walked passed the threshold and passed out on the small, lumpy piece of furniture.
"Okay I get the point." Roxas groaned as he pushed the nagging cat out of his personal space, "Give me a second." The teen grabbed his cell off the coffee table to see what time it was, but was met with a blank screen. Oh right, he never turned it back on after dinner.
Roxas clicked it on before setting it back onto the table to wait for it to start up. In the meantime, he could go fix Pete his breakfast. He was just scooping out the third heaping up of cat food when the alerts started to go off. The notifications were coming in so fast that the annoying dings were interrupting themselves, "The fuck?" Roxas abandoned his current task to see what the ruckus was about, much to Pete's annoyance.
An unknown number had blown up his phone over the night. Roxas didn't know the number, but the person seemed to know him. First the messages seemed polite enough. Asking if they were still meeting up, asking if Roxas was on his way. Then things started to get more hostile the longer the stranger seemed to be waiting.
Finally fed up with the weird messages Roxas decided to call the strange number. It rang three times before someone answered.
"What?" The voice was so familiar, but the blond couldn't place it. But they sounded annoyed.
"Hi…umm...this is going to sound awkward but…"
"So you're calling with an excuse for standing me up last night? Frankly Roxas, I don't want to hear it."
"No, that's not what I was going to say." The blond could feel the man on the other end's annoyance with him, "I wanted to say that I don't know who this is. I was at my stepmother's last night. I didn't make plans with anyone."
"Really, then why do I have a text message from you agreeing to go on a date with me in reply to me asking you out?" The stranger sounded so defensive, and how could he lie? He obviously knew Roxas's number with the messages he sent and it did sound like they had something set up, but there was still that one problem.
"But no one's asked me out. I think I would have remembered that. And you also never told me who you are." Now Roxas was starting to get annoyed. Who did this asshole think he was?
"You know what Roxas, fuck you. I can't believe I ever liked you. I'm better off going to go find that new kid."
New kid? Oh shit he couldn't be talking about Roxas's Cloud persona. If he was then there would only be one person on the other end of the conversation, "Axel?" But the line had already gone dead, leaving Roxas alone with a dial tone. What the hell was going on?