Hey everyone! I'm back again! And I've finally finished this baby! I seperated the ending into two full-length chapters and I really hope you enjoy it! It's been a bumpy ride!

Thanks to mah subscribers once more. You know how awesome you are. Who is awesome? You are awesome :)

Also, bear with Roxas, kay? Give this kid a break. I know you're gonna get annoyed with him (hell, I even did and I'm writing him!) but it gets better, I promise. That's exactly the reason I let you have Axel's POV...Roxas can get, um, frustrating. :D

March

10 sessions later, I had quickly and successfully completed my hypnotherapy.

Everyone kept saying that I seemed so different now. Surer of myself or whatever, but…

I felt the same. Nothing really felt all that different for me. But one thing was for sure.

The insecurities were gone. I didn't feel anxious or nervous about what people thought of me. I didn't care. I didn't care about anyone or anybody either.

At least, from what I could tell.

After starting my therapy sessions two weeks ago, I slowly lost contact with Axel (I couldn't remember his last name for the life of me!) until he just kind of became this person I used to know.

The more I hung out with him, the more I forgot.

Olette kept insisting that we used to secretly date, that he had taken my virginity (mentally, she corrected when I argued this point), and that he was my one true love, but…I didn't remember any of that. At all. All I remembered about Axel were general things, like that he was the most popular boy in school and that we were acquaintances working on some mysterious school assignment (although Olette told me that was made-up, apparently).

The biggest disappointment was that no one could tell me where Namine was—the one person I remembered the most vividly. Aerith had been telling me that she was gone, that she had left, but I still felt as if she was going to come back any day now. She had to.

I was in love with her.

"No!" Olette insisted stubbornly as we sat at the lunch table the day after my hypnotherapy was officially completed. "You love Axel! Please try to remember!"

I blinked at her, then looked up to where he was sitting at the table across from us. He had his head buried in his hands while the rest of the table's inhabitants—who I couldn't remember either—tried to comfort him.

The blonde female with the weird bangs felt me staring and glared up at me darkly. Flinching, I turned my attention back to Olette, who was eyeing me hopefully.

"Anything?"

I shook my head. "No. I don't know who those people are."

As Olette slumped in despair, Hayner and Pence joined us at the table with their lunches. Hayner whistled happily as he took his seat next to me. The best friend seat.

After realizing that I couldn't remember Axel for the life of me, Hayner had forgiven me for rejecting him in favor of the 'poisonous, toxic, scum bag' who had 'brainwashed me' into ruining our friendship. Whatever. As long as he didn't make any moves on me, we were good in my eyes.

"So, Roxas! Enjoying yourself?" He asked me, just the picture of ease as he leaned back carelessly in his chair. "It's nice not to have any annoying redheads bogging you down, isn't it?"

Olette huffed heavily at Hayner, looking on the verge of tears, so I took her side for once and gave him a pointed look. "I'm trying so hard to remember, Hayner."

But that was a lie. I was hardly trying at all to remember what I had with Axel. Why did it matter? How could I possibly focus on him when I was in love with Namine?

Olette was glancing sadly at Axel, so I looked over at him again. Now he was standing up abruptly, looking around, until his eyes found mine. His neon green eyes squinted at me as I registered the pleading, needy look he was giving me.

But I could only stare blankly back. What was he doing?

He frowned at my expression, sighed dejectedly, and stormed out of the cafeteria with a small slate-haired kid and a guy with a Mohawk chasing after him. Shrugging, I turned back to my friends and smiled. Just because I had lost a couple of memories didn't mean we all had to act depressed!

"We should do something crazy! Like…like…let's burn something!" I exclaimed, jumping up and grinning excitedly. Pence and Olette stared back at me, looking emotionally drained. My smile slowly faded. What was the matter with them? "What?"

"I feel like I've lost a friend." Pence murmured softly. My feelings felt infinitely hurt. That was a little harsh. Was I that different?

"Well, this is me now, okay?" I snapped, grabbing my backpack and storming out of the lunch room. I felt like everyone was tiptoeing around me, as if I was supremely different now. But I wasn't different—I was just the "real me", you know?

Hypnotherapy always worked, right? Right?

Still, I couldn't help this nagging question: why couldn't I remember Axel?

Meanwhile

If one was paying attention, and Axel Highwind wasn't saying that he was, because he was pretty much a lazy bastard when it came to everything that wasn't Roxas, one would notice that the little blonde had a pretty prominent following—romantically, that is.

Which typically would have meant that Axel would be competing for his love, considering that he had harbored feelings for this boy since he first noticed him in middle school five years ago. But, of course, ever since Roxas completed his hypnosis, their romance had been completely wiped from the boy's memory.

Besides that, for some reason, the student body loved the new, manly Roxas. Everyone chalked up the change to hormones and puberty and followed him around like little puppies. The more he turned them down, the more desperate they became to get his attention.

Therefore, Axel had to watch as the new Roxas received countless numbers of invitations to dinners, movies, and other date places that the redhead could never hope to take him. Why? Because Roxas' fucking hypnosis somehow altered his memories.

Specifically, any and all memories that involved one Axel Highwind.

No, he wasn't the brightest crayon in the pack. But even he knew that something was wrong with all of this. Why the hell did he have to be the one to get erased? Something just did not fucking compute.

Sure, he had done his best to get the kid to remember. But it was as if the more he talked about it, the more Roxas forgot!

Finally, he had to cut his losses before the cute little blonde forgot him completely, which would be worst case scenario. If he couldn't have him as a lover, well damn, he would have to have him as an acquaintance.

But that wasn't going to stop him from trying to solve this thing.

"Can't you look into his mind's eye or something?" Axel demanded of Zexion as they, along with Demyx, sat in the "make-out spot", a spot that they had complete control of until dusk. Zexion sighed, stretching languidly before resting his head on Demyx's lap.

"No." He said simply, closing his eyes.

Axel growled dangerously. He wasn't going to tolerate anyone getting in his way. Before he could say—or do—anything that might damage their friendship, Demyx held out a hand in front of Axel to stop him. "Wait."

"What?" Axel snapped, but he relaxed, calming the fire inside of him that threatened to flare.

"The reason he can't do it is because he's being blocked out." Demyx explained, giving Zexion a look for not saying anything about it in the first place. Axel turned to them with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?"

"What he means is," Zexion answered, finally speaking up in a quiet voice, "is that someone with even stronger abilities than mine is blocking his mind off. It's actually quite embarrassing."

Axel considered this. So if that was the case, someone did mess up his mind during the hypnosis! But who? And why?

Later

Back at home, even interactions with my family were strange and foreign. Hearing of my therapy sessions, my parents had been staying with us temporarily again, saying that they wanted to do all that they could to save my soul.

It didn't really bother me too much, but Cloud and Sora seemed a bit irked at their presence during this weird time in my life. Poor Cloud, who typically rarely stayed at home—he stayed in his dorm room back at the university for the most part, since Sora and I were old enough to be self-sufficient—found he was unable to follow his normal schedule with our parents breathing down his neck, trying to determine if he was still an adequate guardian.

And Sora, my usually reliable and loyal brother, insisted that I wasn't myself, that they had made me "irreversibly fucked up". I don't even know where he heard that phrase!

"You're just so…bland! And when you're not bland, you're needlessly impulsive and angry." Sora admitted apologetically, unwilling to hurt my feelings, but trying to be honest. My feelings were a bit hurt, but…if Sora was saying those things, maybe he was right. Maybe something was wrong.

It was true that I felt like…like a part of me was missing. And I kept wanting to burn things.

Weird, I know.

"Maybe if we just found Namine…" I began hopefully, but Sora just sighed sharply, giving me an irritated look, before leaving the room without another word. What? What was everyone's problem with Namine?

She had helped me during a hard time in my life! I needed her!

I flopped back onto my bed with a sigh, clutching my cell phone to my chest. I didn't want to be alone…I wanted to talk to someone…but I had no one to call.

I never had anyone to call.

Well, fuck everyone. They could all just bite me. This was me. I felt as if I had been sleeping for a thousand of years and had finally been woken up. And there was no way of going back.

All of those feelings from three years back became flooding back to me. I felt angry…anxious…alone. This was why I needed Namine! She was the only one who could help me…who could stop me from feeling this way.

I fell asleep with this thought as I clutched my phone to my chest, wishing it Namine in my arms instead.

The next morning at school, I found Selphie at my locker, holding her backpack with one hand and a coffee from the local coffee shop with the other. When she noticed me staring at her blankly, she smiled and held out the coffee to me.

"Hi, Roxas! I got this for you!" She trilled, still smiling even when I didn't respond. Finally, she let out a breath and lowered her hand, catching on that I didn't want anything from her. "Look…I know you're still upset with me because of the false accusation. You know…about Axel?"

I blinked at her. "Who's that again?"

She looked taken aback for a second before realization dawned on her face. "Oh, right. I forgot. Sora told everyone you've been suffering from a little amnesia, which I'm totally sorry about, by the way."

I rolled my eyes. Sora was always cleaning up after me, making sure my reputation stayed perfectly intact, even when I didn't give two shits about it. "Yeah, okay."

"A-Anyway," Selphie continued nervously, shuffling in an anxious manner. "I thought you should know that I'm completely over Axel. Ever since you got amnesia, he's been very…I dunno…quiet. He's been so…introverted."

I stared at her. So?

"So that's why I…I…well…I think I'm in love you now. Not Axel. It's always been you, I think. No. I know. I know it's always been you." She confessed, taking a deep breath and looking me straight in the eyes, waiting for a response.

I shook my head. I wasn't in the mood to do this with her. "I'm in love with someone else."

"O-Oh! Well…that's alright, I don't mind waiting." Selphie crooned, leaning against the locker next to mine with a pining sigh. "Waiting is so romantic!"

Jeez. I rolled my eyes and shut my locker, walking to my first class. She trailed after me like a lost puppy. "Who is this mystery person that you love, anyway? Hayner? I see the way he looks at you. Or maybe Olette? She's been pretty protective of you lately! Or how about—"

"Her name is Namine." I interrupted, swirling around to face her. "And she's absolutely perfect and nothing like you. So please, go back to liking Axel What's-his-name, okay?"

Selphie stopped dead in her tracks, staring confusedly at me. Finally, she murmured, "Who are you?"

I stared back at her, pausing before going inside of my class. "I don't know."

I just…wasn't sure anymore.

When I got to combat, my last class of the day, that redhead kid…um, Axel-something, was talking quietly on his cell phone in the doorway, looking miserable but determined.

"What do you mean, you can't find her? I told you, you better find that girl and bring her to me if you don't want something bad to happen to your pathetic little crush. Don't make me say his name. Fine…Cloud. If you don't find this girl, I'm going to burn Cloud to a crisp and make it look like an accident—"

"What do you plan to do to Cloud?" I interrupted harshly, glaring at the redheaded giant. "That's my brother, you asshole."

Axel jumped and looked at me, startled, before shaking his head and pointing to the classroom. "Better get to class before the bell rings. Mrs. Mulan will count you as tardy."

"I said," I repeated louder, stepping closer to him with a murderous glint in my eyes. "What are you going to do to Cloud?"

Axel rolled his eyes at me, moving to lean carelessly against the doorway. "I don't think that's any of your business…Angel."

"Don't call me that." I warned him lowly, feeling that strange pang I always did when hearing that name. And was this guy serious? He was threatening my brother, right in front of me, and thought it wasn't my business? Seriously?

"You know," Axel continued, smirking darkly at me, "You never were big on change, Roxas. So you can beat me up all you want, because I know that you'll never be able to cure your little anger management problem."

I growled and prepared to punch this guy's lights out, when the bell rang, blaring in my ears and reminding me of where I was. This was no place for a fight; I had at least learned that much.

"We'll settle this after school. Outside." I demanded, shoving past him and stalking into the classroom. "Better bring your A-game…Giant."

Axel laughed. "Giant?"

I ignored him. I wanted to get my head in the game for our fight. For once we had a book assignment in class instead of the combat-to-combat teaching we always learned, so Axel and I were spared of speaking or seeing each other until the end of the day.

Then, finally, class was over and it was time to settle the score.

As I burst out of the school doors, trying to determine what was a good spot—parking lot? Grassy area?—Selphie ran up to me, grabbing my shirt in her well-manicured little fingers.

I groaned. I was so sick of her! "What is it now?"

"You can't do this, Roxas! You'll hurt him!" She cried, burying her face in the back of my shirt. I rolled my eyes and continued walking, smirking when her feet began dragging in her attempts to pull me back. She was so weak.

"That's the point." I retorted, deciding that the secretive nature of the parking lot was the best place for an after-school rumble. Selphie wasn't having it, though.

"No! Listen to me…you're making a mistake! A mistake that….that's all my fault, okay?" She shouted, near tears. I stopped, swirling around to face her angrily. She flinched and let go of me.

"What are you talking about?" I bit, folding my arms and glaring at her. In my peripheral vision I could see Axel standing nearby, watching us in curiosity.

Selphie shrank back from my tone, wrapping her arms around herself and looking away. Finally, she whispered, "I'm the reason that you're like this."

I blinked rapidly, taken by surprise. Wait….what? "What do you mean?"

"I…It's my fault that you're like...that your hypnotherapy went a little sour." She admitted, before taking off running past me, propelled by fear of my reaction. I watched her run with a wave of uncertainty. I thought my sessions had been successful. That's what they told me. But then…why did I feel so weird now? Why didn't my family and friends like me anymore?

And why couldn't I remember Axel?

How did she even know about my hypnotherapy? Sora had told everyone I got amnesia!

A wave of dread overtook me. This new "me" was all that was left inside of me. If it wasn't the right personality, then…there was no going back.

Axel took a step towards me, cautiously, but I visibly flinched and stepped back. I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.

So I ran. Like a pathetic child, I took off running from the scene and the problem, hoping beyond hope that Axel wouldn't follow me.

He didn't.

Meanwhile

Not ten minutes after Roxas took off running from him like an antelope running from a lion, Reno drove up to the school with an unidentified male in black shades sitting in the passenger seat. Axel frowned, striding up to the car while onlookers gaped at the pure sexiness that was oozing from the driver, who was eyeing the high school boys track team appreciatively from behind the wheel.

Axel slid into the back seat, slamming the door behind him. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Reno smirked, preparing to pull out of the parking lot, when his younger brother stopped him with a firm punch to his shoulder. "Hey!" Reno squealed in a very unmanly manner. "What was that for?"

"I have my own car. I only got in here so we could talk." Axel explained impatiently. "Pull into one of the spaces and put the car in park."

Reno muttered something that Axel couldn't hear to the man in the passenger seat as he did what Axel ordered, pulling into the parking space right next to Axel's car. Finally, when the car was parked properly and shut off, he turned around to face Axel, the little shit that was being a massive pain in the ass.

"Is there any reason you're threatening to kill my dear old friend Cloud, little brother?" Reno asked pleasantly, idly playing with a strand of hair that had blown into his face. "It's not very nice."

Axel folded his arms, lifting his head defiantly. "If you would just do what I'm paying you to do, I wouldn't have to, now would I, big brother?"

Reno sighed, running a frustrated hand through his dark red strands of hair. "I told you, she's MIA. No one has seen this girl before. Frankly, I'm not sure she even exists."

Axel pursed his lips, leaning back against the seat. "I'm pretty damn sure Roxas said her name was Namine."

"Maybe he's lying." Reno suggested with an amused smirk developing on his face. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Axel shook his head furiously as he insisted, "He wouldn't lie to me."

Reno sighed heavily in response. Sure, the kid was a good fuck, but for his brother to be acting this lovesick… "Bro, are you sure this kid is worth all this?"

Axel fell silent. There was no sentence with enough conviction to convince Reno that he was.

Finally, Reno shifted uncomfortably when the silence became too unbearably tense. "Fine. I know one more place you can check, but you're on your own."

"But whhhhhy?" Axel whined, turning into the little brat that Reno remembered so vividly. "Come with me!"

Reno laughed bitterly. "Unfortunately, bro, the person who will be helping you isn't a huge fan of mine after she found out I slept with your little boyfriend. She's so judgmental."

Axel tilted his head a little in surprise. That meant it had to be someone who knew both Reno and Roxas separately. Hmm…it sounded like it could only be one person.

"You don't mean his…"

Reno nodded helplessly. "Yep. I'm talking about his therapist, Aerith Gainsborough."

I swung open the door to my house and ran straight to my room, ignoring Cloud and his two boyfriends—Leon and Sephiroth, on my way there. Once I was safely locked inside the only haven in the entire house, I fell onto my bed face first, bursting into angry tears.

Why was I so…angry? All of the time? I hated this…I hated me!

What was happening to me? I'd never felt like this—so, so, so damn different!

In a move so smooth I swear I'd done it a thousand times, I picked up my desk chair, one of the only clean things in my room, and swung it against the wall, watching in satisfaction as it smashed into chunks of parts.

Huffing heavily, I slid to the ground, sitting with my legs tucked close to my chest as I tried to catch my breath. Something was definitely wrong with me. I just didn't know how to fix it.

Hayner frowned darkly as the same goddamn redheaded annoyance that had been his primary competition for Roxas' heart stood in front of him in his doorway, looking desperate and miserable.

"What?" He snapped harshly, giving him an unsympathetic once-over. "The fuck do you want?"

Axel sighed, composing himself, before asking quietly, "Did you fuck with Roxas' head?"

Hayner glared back at him, offended even in his confusion. "And by that, you mean…?"

The tall, admittedly sexy redhead shifted his weight, staring at his shoes intently. "Did you erase his memories of me?"

Hayner blinked, completely taken aback. He didn't even know that…someone could actually do that.

"Um…" He coughed, trying to act as if he wasn't completely shocked. "No I didn't. That…that wasn't me."

Axel's shoulders slumped. "Oh. Alright, well, see you at school tomorrow."

Hayner watched wordlessly as Axel walked slowly back to his car. Maybe he should go with him, to see what he was talking about. Sure, hanging out with Axel fucking Highwind wasn't his idea of a fun Thursday night, but if it had to do with Roxas being fucked up, it was a sacrifice he was going to have to make.

The truth was, even he wasn't a fan of the old Roxas. His anger and aggression got in the way of their friendship, and he was pretty damn sure one of these days Rox was going to snap and beat him up.

"Hey, Axel!" He called, running down the porch and to the car. "Wait up."

A quick trip to Olette's house had turned into a trip to Pence's house, which turned into a trip to Zexion's and Demyx's, which turned into a trip to Riku's and Kairi's, which turned into a car full of people that were, like Axel, dying to know what the hell was wrong with Roxas Strife.

Thus began the Team of Roxas Lovers.

"No, no, no! I thought we decided on Team Akuroku!" Demyx rallied as someone murmured 'what the hell is an akuroku?', tossing a Dorito at Riku when he rolled his eyes at him. "Don't give me that look, Riku! You haven't known me long enough to judge me!"

"I'm not judging you, man." Riku argued, but with a smirk, he turned to Sora and whispered loudly, "what a freak."

"Heard that!"

"Shouldn't we be focusing on Roxas?" Kairi asked, folding her arms with some good-natured spunk. "Sounds like we're getting off topic."

"Sounds like your face is getting off topic." Hayner retorted, snorting at his own joke. Kairi gave him a disgusted look before turning around to face Sora and Riku again, while Olette punched Hayner in the back of his head when no one was looking. "Hey!"

Sora sighed as he stared off into space, unblinking. Kairi and Riku exchanged worried glances before Kairi finally murmured, "Sora? You okay?"

"I just," He began, shaking his head sadly, "can't believe my baby brother was dating Axel Highwind, and he felt like he had to hide it from me."

"Don't take it personally." Axel sighed pitifully, finally speaking for the first time since he started driving them all to the office where Roxas received his hypnotherapy. "He felt like he needed to hide it from everyone."

"But why? I don't care that he's gay!" Sora protested, pouting. "I mean, I kind of care that he's gay for you, Axel Highwind, the most sought-after guy on the islands, but I guess that's not a big deal, right? Right, Riku?"

Riku, who was currently engaged in an intense thumb war with Demyx, nodded carelessly. "Yeah, sure. Of course."

Sora ignored his indifference and turned back to Axel, frowning with another heavy sigh. "How long were you two together?"

A small smile tugged at the corners of the redhead's lips. "Eh…couple of months, give or take."

Sora was speechless and Axel finally allowed himself to grin widely for the first time since Roxas' convenient little "amnesia".

Take that, amnesia.

"Oh, look. We're here!"

Aerith Gainsborough stood up in surprise as a group of teenagers piled into her office, looking tense, confused, and more than a tad pissed off at her.

She was pretty sure she knew why.

"Hello!" She offered nervously, but when no one spoke, she plopped down in her chair with a long sigh. "Okay, this is about Roxas Strife, isn't it?"

Axel strode up to her desk and sat down on it aggressively. "You're damn right it is. What the hell did you do to him?"

Aerith shook her head, covering her eyes with one hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…I didn't think…this is my fault."

Axel growled and prepared to press her further, but Sora stopped him with a kind squeeze from his hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Axel. Give her a chance to explain."

Aerith sighed heavily before gesturing to the multiple chairs around the room. "Please, take a seat."

"Tell us everything." Axel demanded, plopping down directly in front of her. He was tired of all the bullshit…he just wanted the damn truth.

"I'm not specialized in hypnotherapy so I thought it wise to bring in an expert for the procedures. I turned to my advisor, Dr. Ansem Wise, to assist me. Well, he came in, sat down, and asked Roxas a couple of questions to determine which was the dominant personality." She explained gently, looking everywhere but at Axel.

"Well?" Axel pressed, leaning forwards in the uncomfortable chair he was lounged against. "Which was it?"

Aerith toyed with a string on her dress. "Truthfully…it was the angelic portion of him."

Everyone fell silent while Axel swore like a sailor and slammed his fist against Aerith's desk. How could this be happening? "Motherfu—"

"So then how did he become so aggressive? I thought you were supposed to be merging these halves! Why did you all erase his other half?" Sora demanded, looking equally as pissed as Axel. "What did you do to him?"

"He wanted us to." Aerith admitted quietly, finally meeting Axel's glare head on. After an uncomfortable silence passed once more, she murmured, "He told me all about you, Axel Highwind."

Axel flinched at her knowing, yet kind smile. What did Roxas tell her? Why was she looking at him like he was somehow responsible for all this? Sure, it wasn't exactly an accusing glance, but it was certainly a…sympathetic one.

And that was just as bad in his mind.

"He thought that you hated his angel persona, Axel. So he begged for us to remove it. He believed his feelings for you to be stronger than the ones he has for Namine no matter what personality he had." Aerith smiled, her eyes filling with tears. "He truly loved you, Axel."

Axel stared at a painting above Aerith's head, blankly registering the colors that swirled together. He was too lost in thought to be focusing on it fully.

He didn't doubt Roxas' love for him…the kid had proved it sufficiently enough; sure, the best way would've been coming out, but he accepted his issues. He knew that love confessions riddled with internal doubt were the only things Roxas knew of love.

Then…why couldn't Roxas fucking remember him?

"Selphie…have you told him?" Aerith asked the girl quietly, gaining back Axel's attention. He swirled around in his seat to glare darkly at her. If she was hiding something from him…

Selphie flinched and took a step back behind Kairi. "U-Um…uh, well…no….I-I didn't…"

Aerith sighed heavily and gave her a disapproving frown. "You know what the deal was, Selphie."

"What's going on, dammit? I mean, fuck!" Axel shouted, slamming his fist onto the desk and making Aerith jump. "Get on with it!"

"Well, what Selphie was supposed to tell you is how Roxas lost his memories of you…why he can't remember." She admitted slowly.

Axel stiffened; he felt his breath leave him so quickly that he had to gasp to get it back. "W-wha…? S-So you all did something to him?"

Aerith gave him a pitying glance before directing her attention back to Selphie. She wanted to watch the girl carefully as she told the truth so she could stop her if she tried to run. "Here's the truth…after Roxas' procedures, he was correct. He was still in love with you, albeit he was more aggressive and possessive about it. But his feelings for you beat out his feelings for Namine."

"Okay…so…?"

Aerith took a deep breath. "Selphie found our operating room and convinced Dr. Ansem to eradicate all memories of you from his head during the procedure. She said that she loved you too much to watch you be with another; Dr. Ansem fell for it. I tried to persuade him otherwise, but he was determined to help her."

The door slammed behind them, and upon further inspection, Selphie had fled from the room. Axel sighed. There was no use getting angry; it wasn't her fault that he was so irresistible. "How did they erase his memories?"

Aerith reached into her desk and pulled out a thick file. Leaning over, Axel let his nosy green eyes wander over it until he caught sight of one name that made his heart drop dead in his chest. Namine.

Damn her…why was this girl so involved in Roxas' life?

"Let me guess…Namine has the ability to erase people as well as memories. Well…isn't that just fucking convenient!" Axel swore, standing up and striding over to the door. "She is officially on my hit list."

Everyone tackled him at the same time, causing him to fall with a painful thump to the ground. Double damn it…

"Get off of me!" He hollered, growling as Demyx bit him unhelpfully. "I'm going to kill her!"

"Axel, wait!" Aerith fretted, coming from around the table and kneeling to where he was sprawled on the ground, unable to move under the weight of Sora, Riku, and the rest of the group.

"What?"

"All is not lost! Namine has the power to undo the spell!" She confided, placing a comforting hand on his head. "She is not as horrible as you picture her. She is a very fragile, vulnerable girl with a distressing amount of power. She only wished to help Roxas…she believed you to be forcing him into a relationship."

Forcing him? That kid practically begged for everything he did to him! "That's a lie."

Aerith pursed her lips and clasped her hands together. "I suspected just as much. That's why I have been waiting for you to come to me so I could tell you of her whereabouts. All you must do is convince her to undo the spell, and Roxas will remember you again."

"Hey, wait a minute! What about his personality, huh? When will we get the real Roxas back?" Hayner protested, pushing down Axel in his attempts to stand up again. "Who cares about his damn memory? I want my best friend back!"

Aerith shrugged optimistically. "He may restore it himself. It is too soon to tell whether Namine will be able to restore his memory. I would prepare yourselves for the worst, but hope for the best."

Axel was more than a little pissed. And that was kind of a problem for everyone else who was quietly sitting in the car with him. For one thing, no one wanted to be the one that took the brunt of Axel's wrath. And that wasn't even factoring in that he didn't even like most of them.

Silently, Axel dropped off each of his passengers, angrily slamming doors as he went. When only Selphie remained in the car, he pulled over on the side of the road and parked, ignoring the speeding cars around them.

"Um…" Selphie stuttered, sliding away from him a little bit in the car. "Please don't kill me…I'm sorry. I told Namine to formulate the spell so that every time he thought about you, he forgot about you more and more."

"This isn't your fault, Selphie." Axel confessed slowly, turning to face her. "It's mine."

Selphie frowned. Clearly he was trying to pull something. "Axel, you don't have to rub it in."

"I'm not." He insisted, and it was true. "I'm being completely serious. This is all my fault. There's a reason besides you that Roxas can't…won't…remember me."

The bouncy brunette stared at him in curiosity. When he didn't speak any further, she prompted him. "Go on."

Axel focused on the cars traveling next to them, each passing by at a speed over the limit. Figures. No one knew how to drive safely these days. "I never told him I loved him."

Selphie gaped at him in confusion and shock. Surely that couldn't be right! "But I heard—"

"Sure, I told him that I loved him while we were together. But I never fully explained who or what about him it was that I loved. And frankly, I should have. I'm sure he had his doubts about which side of him I was head over heels for." Axel sighed, shaking his head in regret. "I realized it back at Aerith's. He must have thought I loved the old Roxas, the one that first grabbed my attention."

"So I take it that isn't true?"

"Not entirely." Axel answered. At Selphie's grimace, he tried to explain further. "I was infatuated with Roxas five years ago, the first time I saw him, because he was everything I wasn't. He knew how to speak his mind, how to stand up for his friends and himself, and just seemed to have school locked down. I liked that. I admired that. So, naturally, I harbored a crush on him."

"Then, before I could confess, he left town. I pined over him appropriately until he returned. But once he came back, I could see he was completely different. Sugary. Fake. Nothing like the guy I was in love with. So I didn't make my move. Instead I dated other people, letting two years pass, before I decided that I had had enough." He concluded, looking at Selphie again. "That's when I started going after him, trying to get him to be himself again."

Selphie blinked a bit before shrugging, "Um…I don't see a problem with that."

Axel shook his head with a wistful smile. "Don't you see? By that point, he had already become a different person. I was wrong, Selphie. The Roxas we knew wasn't two personalities. Not anymore. Through helping others with their problems, caring for his brothers, and…well, inevitably falling for me…he had already merged his personalities. This was him, Selphie. I just…refused to see it."

Selphie mulled it over for a moment. "But what about the way he was always protecting his reputation and acting all perfect when he saw the sunlight?"

"That was just fear. He wasn't ready to debut his new self or give up Namine. Roxas may have lost his anger, but his stubbornness and occasional bitchiness is just a part of who he is, and nothing will ever change that. But so is his shyness, his sweetness, and his big, big heart. I don't know why I couldn't see that." Axel groaned, covering his eyes. "I'm the one person who needed to accept him, but I didn't."

Selphie placed a comforting hand on Axel's arm, caressing it slightly that would have been a wee bit awkward had Axel not been in such a state of dismay. "Axel, you didn't see it because he wasn't ready for you to see it. He may have shown you glimpses, but I'm sure he didn't—"

"You're wrong." Axel interjected, holding up a hand to stop her. "He did show me. The last month with him before the treatment really took effect was the real Roxas. He loved me enough to show me, and I fell in love with him, the true him, all over again. But I never told him that. I never admitted that I was wrong about him all along. I just…let this happen."

Then

I frowned as Axel gaped in surprise at what I had done for him. He could be a little more appreciative, damn it.

"What, you don't like it?" I asked grumpily, but I couldn't keep the little waver of anxiousness from my voice. I had spent a lot of time on this, and if Axel didn't like it…well. The disappointment would be unbearable.

When Axel remained speechless, I decided to cut my losses and undo everything I had done. Laughing forcedly, I strode over to my "mess" and started tossing it into the trash can, hoping I could just erase all of this.

Axel immediately came back to life. "Whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing, Angel?"

I froze, turning to stare at him in surprise. "I'm…I mean, clearly you don't like it, so I'm getting rid of it."

Axel shook his head as he walked over to me, looking sheepish. "I didn't know what to say; no one has ever cooked me a candlelit dinner before."

I gave him a doubtful look. "Really? You? You mean to tell me that you have never been to a romantic dinner?"

Axel cupped my cheek tenderly. He admitted softly, "No one has ever cared enough to do this for me."

I blinked back at him, completely taken aback. I guess I had it in my mind that he was some kind of womanizer, but in actuality, he had never been in love with anyone else either.

I was kind of happy to hear that, actually.

"Um…" I stammered, rendered practically speechless at the pure adoration shining in his gorgeous green irises. "I…I, uh…Happy Valentine's Day, Axel."

Axel brought his lips down to mine, caressing them with his own in a teasing way that made me ache, whispering, before fully kissing me like I had never been kissed before, "Happy Valentine's Day, Roxas."

Selphie fell silent. There was nothing she could say to make him release his guilt. After thinking about all he had said, there was one last thing she needed to clear up. "So, to sum it all up, what you're saying is that, during the hypnotherapy, because you never told Roxas what part of him you were in love with, he thought you loved the old him. So he told Ansem that it was the Angel persona that was not the dominant side, and that he needed to hypnotize him to believe that part never existed."

Axel nodded glumly. There was no getting around it.

Selphie nodded in response and continued. "Then, when I told Namine, Aerith's consultant during the hypnosis, to erase you from his memory every time he thought about you, I was only making it worse, because he worried so much about you liking the 'new him' that he thought about you nonstop, therefore making you disappear from his mind."

Axel groaned again and decided that now would be a good time to repeatedly slam his head against the steering wheel. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Where did he go from here? He'd fucked up before, sure, but nothing this life altering! The fucking love of his life was gone and he didn't know what to do about it.

"Then…now what? Are you going to go find Namine?" Selphie asked quietly, toying with her bouncy brown curls nervously, just in case Axel decided to change his mind and kill her ruthlessly while she wasn't looking.

Axel nodded with a frown. "Yeah, though it's going to be hard not to scream at her the whole time."

Selphie gasped as she imagined tiny, sweet Namine cowering in a corner while tall, intimidating Axel shouted obscenities at her. No…she couldn't let that happen.

"Then I'm going with you!" She announced, sitting up straighter in her seat. At Axel's murderous glare, she squeaked, "It'll be good to have me, the person who convinced her that you were a monster, be the one to fix her impression of you."

Axel opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Damn…girl had a point.

"Fine! You can come with me. But no more lies, okay?"

"Promise!"

Axel parked the car into the driveway of the biggest ass mansion he had ever seen. Jeez—who the hell needed a house that big?

"Even her house pisses me off." He mumbled as he got out the car, shooting Selphie an annoyed look. "She just had to be rich!"

Namine's mansion was located three hours away from Destiny Islands in what was known as Fated Peak, the richest town this side of the hemisphere. Axel himself had never even seen the neighborhood; no one he knew had.

Selphie sighed and shook her head at Axel as she led the way up the rest of the driveway. "She's had a difficult life, okay? Give her a break!"

"Oh I'll give her something alright—" Axel muttered darkly as Selphie rung the doorbell, earning himself a firm elbow in the ribs. "Ow! So abusive!"

"Shh!"

An elderly man slowly opened the door, frowning immediately at the sight of them. When neither parties said anything, the man wheezed, "I'm very sorry, but that is all for today. The quota has been filled."

The man began to close the door but Axel thrust his leg out to stop the door from closing. He grimaced at the man's terrified expression. "Sorry, I'm not trying to scare you. What quota are you talking about?"

The man's eyes moved from Axel to Selphie and back again. He looked puzzled. "Namine's healing prowess. Are you not here to be healed? Maybe…maybe you are here to increase your fertility?"

Eh? Axel leapt back in horror. Him…trying to impregnate somebody? Gah!

"We're not here for that. We're actually here to talk to Namine about some…um, personal business." Selphie explained when Axel remained frozen in horrified shock. When the man didn't budge, she added, "It's about a friend of ours…Roxas Strife?"

Recognition lit up the elderly man's face and he finally opened the door wide enough for them to enter. "Roxas Strife! Yes, yes, please come in!"

That woke Axel up a bit. As they followed him inside, he asked, "Do you know him personally?"

The elderly man shook his head kindly, politely leading them up a large set of carpeted stairs. "No, I have never met him personally but Namine speaks of him very often. She says that he was her only friend during her sickness."

"Sickness?" Selphie asked, looking worried. Axel stared at her curiously. She was awfully invested in Namine.

"Yes. When Namine uses too much of her powers, she becomes terribly, terribly ill. In fact, she has been weak ever since seeing Roxas Strife again." He answered thoughtfully, coming to a stop in front of a white door at the end of the second floor hallway. "I hope it is not emotional trauma. Anyway, here is her room. Excuse me."

Axel watched the man's retreating back as he vanished down the hall. Emotional trauma…? From helping Roxas erase him? But that didn't make any sense…

Selphie, without knocking, threw open the door, much to Axel's chagrin, with a wide smile. "Namine! I'm back!"

Axel felt overwhelmed as he felt himself become practically blinded by all of the white in the room. Unable to stop himself, he blurted out, "Why is your room so goddamn white? You're designing skills are just as bad as Roxas'!"

Selphie gasped and whirled around, practically snarling at him. "Axel! Don't be so rude!"

A quiet laugh came from the window, and Axel's eyes finally adjusted enough for him to see the figure that it came from. A small, fragile-looking blonde girl stood, turning to smile at them. She wore a simple white dress that hung off of her thin frame and kept her hair pulled to one side as it too hung limply from her face.

"Hello again, Selphie...and guest. Axel, I presume?" She greeted weakly, wobbling over to a long table in the center of the large room. "I trust your trip was safe? It's three hours from Destiny Islands, right?"

"Namine…" Selphie trailed off, watching as the girl strained to pick up an assorted colored pencil out of the many that were sprawled over the table. "You look awful."

"Now who's being rude?" Axel hissed in her ear before striding over Namine purposely. He stopped just next to her but placed a sturdy hand on her shoulder to prevent her escape.

"You need to fix Roxas. Now."

Namine stared up at him meekly, her large blue eyes wide with surprise. "You are just as aggressive as Selphie said you are."

Selphie shifted uncomfortably under the sharp glare she received from Axel. "Yeah, Nami, about that…I may have embellished a wee bit."

The glare darkened and Selphie flinched. "Fine, a lot! I embellished a whole lot! I lied to you because I wanted Roxas to forget about Axel so I could lay claim to him. But I was wrong for doing that. I know that now."

Namine gave Selphie a pitying smile. "It's alright."

Axel huffed loudly in outrage. What the hell? Of course it wasn't! "No, it's not alright! He's completely forgotten about me…about us! I want him back! So undo whatever juju powers you used on him!"

Namine tilted her head at Axel with a puzzled half-smile. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that, even if what Selphie says is true. Besides…why isn't Roxas here himself if you are speaking the truth?"

"He's fucking in love with you, so he's at home pining." Axel spat, his words dripping with hatred. He turned away from her to look out the window, trying to regain his self-control. It would do no good to hurt this girl. None at all.

Namine watched Axel thoughtfully, unconsciously moving her pencil along her sketchpad as she did so. To herself, she murmured, "His thoughts were tainted with doubts about you."

Miraculously Axel heard her. But oh, how he wished he hadn't. Whipping around, he growled, "I know they were. I know that a big part of this is my fault, okay?"

Namine furrowed her brow, dropping her pencil in question. "Then…why?"

Axel stared at her blankly. Did she even have to ask? He answered simply, "Because I love him."

Namine swallowed and gazed down at the sketch that she had drawn without looking. Axel peered down as well. It was a drawing of him and Roxas, holding hands, looking more in love than he had ever seen them. His eyes watered despite himself…god, he missed Roxas.

"Even if," She began slowly, "I undo the spell, that other side of himself will not come out willingly."

Axel sat down across from Namine. "Why not?"

"Due to his insecurities, he has locked away that angelic part of him completely. He will have to be the one to restore himself to what once was." She explained, tilting her head at him when his face fell. "Does that scare you?"

Axel scratched the back of his head. Frankly…hell yes. But he didn't want her to know that he doubted himself. Any scrap of doubt from him in her eyes might ruin any chance he had at getting Rox back. "No."

Namine gave him a determined look before standing up and walking over to a strange pod in the back of the room. "Then let's fix this. I believe in miracles…when my sister asked me to erase all memories her so I wouldn't suffer…they came back! If that can happen…anything is possible."

"Axel…I think there's only one solution!" Selphie exclaimed determinedly, her curls jumping up and down as she nodded her head resolutely. Axel gave her an exhausted once-over. Jeez, where did she keep all that energy? They were driving back home, slightly dejected, after Namine's attempt kinda…failed.

Apparently, all she could do was lift the memory ban. He still had to remember him on his own. Fuck. Besides that, even if he did remember him, the part of him that Axel loved was forever locked away in Roxas' recesses unless he up and decided to go back to it. Like that was going to happen.

"Hate to break it to you, but there is no solution, sister. Namine said she can't reverse the process because it's Roxas who has locked that side of himself in the recesses of his mind."

Selphie clicked her tongue, reprimanding him. "Now, now, is that anyway to think? No! Listen, I realized something while Namine was talking about how the process worked. She said that her sister, Xion, had asked her to erase Namine's memories of her so she wouldn't have to suffer. And Namine didn't want to deny her last request, so she did it. But their bond was so strong, even in death, that slowly all of her memories of Xion came back!"

Axel gave Selphie a skeptical look. "That's different; they were sisters. Besides, Namine didn't lock those memories away, she just altered them. Roxas fucked up the process, so he's a different case."

"You're missing the point!" Selphie cried, tugging on his shirt in her excitement and shaking him a little bit. "Axel Highwind, there's still hope for the two of you! All you have to do is make the new Roxas fall in love with you!"

Axel looked at her as if she was crazy for a moment before bursting out in laughter. She couldn't be serious! Selphie's smile slowly faded as she watched him laugh so hard that it was a bit offensive. Finally, looking testy, she snapped, "Well, don't have a cow without me! What's so funny?"

Axel wiped his eyes on his sleeve, still chuckling a little. "This Roxas can't stand me. He never did. Why do you think I kept my crush on him a secret back in middle school? The kid thinks I'm not even worth his full attention!"

Selphie shook her head silently for a moment before facing forward again. As Axel snorted, preparing to start the car and pull out, she whispered one final question.

"Do you want your guardian angel back?"

For the first time in a long time, Axel felt a prickling at the back of his eyes. A lump of emotion welled up into him, and he had a feeling that if he didn't get Selphie home quick, he was going to start bawling in front of her.

That would be very, very bad.

He was Axel fucking Highwind.

So, starting the car with a ferocity that caused the engine to roar dangerously, Axel smirked in a way that was completely and utterly…himself.

Answering Selphie's question, Axel shouted out five words before speeding into traffic, causing the brunette to shriek in amazed trepidation.

"Hell to the fucking yeah!"

Hayner huffed in annoyance as Axel freaking Highwind stood in his doorway, again, for the second time that day, this time wearing an expression similar to a penguin who was determined to fly.

"What, goddamn it?" He snapped, ignoring a pang of pity he had for him.

Axel smirked, looking more like himself than he had in a long time. "I need your help. I'm going to win Roxas Strife back and I need you to help me get Namine out of the picture."

Hayner snorted in disbelief. "Roxas is the one who almost killed someone, not me. I'm not in the murdering business, sorry."

The redhead actually had the nerve to laugh as Hayner seethed impatiently. Finally, he stopped laughing and remarked, "Your love for Roxas is pretty strong, Hayner, and I have to respect that because who the hell wouldn't love him? But I love him more. So you have to respect me, too."

Hayner blew out a breath, rolling his eyes. "Don't you think I know that, dumbass? Why else do you think I haven't made a move on him?"

Axel gave Hayner a genuine smile that told him he knew exactly why he hadn't. "I understand. But…will you help me?"

Hayner sighed heavily. Fine. The truth was…he didn't want this version of Roxas. If he was going to eventually steal him from Axel, he had to steal the right one.

"Okay. What should I do?"

"She moved where?" I shouted, ignoring the startled looks I was receiving from everyone around me. It was mid-March and the weather had finally begun to get nice out, but my attitude had yet to change. Truthfully, I was totally okay with that. What was the point in pretending?

But my friends seemed to be losing patience with me, and in the back of my mind I was starting to worry that they would leave if I didn't get nicer. So, pretending to be embarrassed, I lowered my voice and repeated, "She moved where, Hayner?"

Hayner sniffed dramatically and looked away from me, as if the sight of my face brought him great pain. "Namine moved to Zanarkand. I'm so sorry, Roxas. I know how much you loved her."

I frowned. Zanarkand was light years away. You couldn't even get there without a gummi ship, which was expensive as hell. Even getting a license to drive those things was ridiculously difficult; Sora had been trying for years to pass that driving test to no prevail.

"But I want to see her!" I whined, half-heartedly slamming my locker door shut. I began to walk down the hallway, not even bothering to check and see if Hayner was following me. I knew he was. "Now what do I do?"

"Maybe you should focus on that big assignment you have due by the end of the month?" Hayner suggested automatically, as if this conversation had been rehearsed. I glanced at him oddly. He was being really weird today.

"Eh, I guess it couldn't hurt to actually do some work one of these days. What assignment are you talking about, again?" I asked him, scratching the back of my head sheepishly. I guess my memory wasn't as strong as it used to be.

Hayner shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you know. The one with Axel Highwind."

My heart rammed painfully against my chest at his name. Lately, my body had been acting up; whenever Axel was mentioned, rather than forgetting him, I experienced feelings of longing or remorse. It was creeping me out!

"I'd rather not." I said flatly, picking up my speed so that Hayner actually had to jog to keep up with me. "I'm doing well in that class, I'll take the zero."

"I never said what class it was, dummy! Are you avoiding him?" Hayner demanded, grabbing my arm and pulling me so I would stop speed walking. "Tell me."

I sighed and faced Hayner, though my whole being was screaming at me to push him away from grabbing me like that. I didn't like being touched. "Fine. I'm avoiding the guy. So what?"

"He didn't do anything wrong, Roxas." Hayner scolded in a voice that reminded me of my mother. I rolled my eyes. What was this, fifth grade? I didn't need his approval.

"I don't care…I just don't like the guy, okay?" I snapped, twisting out of his grasp and striding down the hall. Stopping, I turned around and called to him, "Stop bringing him up!"

Besides…I didn't have time to think about Axel Highwind. I needed to come up with ways of getting to Zanarkand so I could be with Namine. That tall…kind of good-looking—okay, really good-looking—redhead would just be a distraction…

And then, like I had unconsciously summoned him, there he was. Walking…no, sauntering…down the hall like he owned the place. I felt an unfamiliar heat rise up my body as I froze, my eyes glued to his lean frame and attention-grabbing red hair.

Angel…I want you.

What?

I want you.

"Wh…What?" I stammered as I realized that someone was actually speaking to me. A glance upwards confirmed my fears. It was Axel, staring at me expectantly, having asked me something completely different from what I imagined he said.

"We need to plan a meeting time to work on the assignment." Axel repeated slowly, as if I was an idiot. I felt a defensive anger flare in me and once again I felt dislike for him, as it should be.

"I heard you the first time, Giant." I retorted, lying easily. He smirked at my come-back but said nothing, only waiting for my answer. I thought carefully…if we went to my house, we would end up in my bedroom, which might freak him out just enough that he would run away.

"How about my place, in my room, Wednesday night?" I suggested with a tinge of mischievousness coloring my tone. But to my surprise, he only chuckled knowingly before pointing out something that I had apparently forgotten.

"I've been in your room, Roxas, remember? So if you're trying to scare me off, it's not going to work. Plus, since we've actually hooked up on your bed before, I'm not sure how much work you'll be able to get done. I've got it; we'll meet up at the clock tower tonight at 5 after school. See you there." And with that, Axel had planned our meeting place and walked off without me being able to say a single thing in protest.

"Looks like your avoiding technique is going well." Hayner snorted sarcastically in my ear, making me jump. I whirled around to face him, pushing him away with both hands in embarrassment. "Shut up! I told you to stop bringing him up!"

Hayner shrugged indifferently and I suddenly felt very exhausted. Using violence to get what I wanted was tiring and it didn't even seem to be working anymore. But who would I be without my anger? Without my defenses?

I would be nothing.

I thought about my conversation with Axel for the entire school day but I still hadn't come any closer to why I couldn't seem to intimidate him. My anger and stubbornness had kept away many admirers as well as others who just wanted to be friends, but Axel seemed to be completely unaffected by my tenacity.

In the past, even Namine had occasionally shied away from me when I became too dark in my stories and conversations. And she was supposed to be my soul mate.

Why was Axel so different?

This fretting was enough to actually make me nervous about meeting with him. Which was ridiculous, because yesterday I couldn't even remember the guy's last name.

Now I couldn't get my mind off of him.

Why were we meeting at the clock tower anyway? That was my first thought as I stopped in front of it since Axel was nowhere in sight. My second thought was more of a worry—would he stand me up? And my third thought was actually a realization—I was fifteen minutes early.

What was I doing? I was acting like a teenager on a date.

My heart leapt. Maybe this was a date!

I forcefully slapped myself…just as Axel rounded the corner. Blood rushed to my face as his green eyes stared at me blankly, looking as if he was seriously judging me in his mind. I growled, trying to hide my blush with aggression.

"Y-You're fucking late." I snapped, folding my arms condescendingly. Axel titled his head and gave me a very odd look, raising his wrist to point at his watch.

"I'm fifteen minutes early. So are you. Don't have a goddamn cow, kid." He snorted arrogantly. I frowned, silently following Axel into the stairway that led to the top of the tower. Breaking the silence, Axel added, "You're not scared of heights, are you?"

"Shut up! I dated you, didn't I, Giant?" I retorted sharply. Once the sentence registered, both of us froze on the stairs. Wait…I remembered that?

I know Olette told me we dated but…that sentence came from me. It was…from my memories.

Then

"So," Axel began seductively in the middle of us hooking up in the stacks, "you know Prom is coming up, right?"

I pulled my body away from his—unfortunately noticing the lack of heat immediately—and stared at him in horror. So soon? I thought I had more time!

"Prom, huh?" I murmured distantly, my mind lost in flashbacks. Axel waited patiently for me to snap out of it before asking, "You've been there before?"

I blushed, thinking back to my disastrous first prom experience. "Y-Yeah…with Reno."

Axel groaned, covering his face with the same hand that had just been touching my…well, you know. "Of course you did. Fucking Reno…"

"If it's any consolation…it was awful." I said, trying to be helpful. "Reno got drunk before going and eventually ended up puking on my shoes."

Axel leaned down and nuzzled my neck with his face, making me blush again. "I promise I won't do that. I'll be a perfect gentleman when we go."

I pushed him away, suddenly annoyed. "What, you've already decided we're going together? You didn't even ask me!"

"I didn't think I needed to when we're doing this everyday!" Axel fired back, emphasizing the 'this' by running a hand along my ribcage. Tingles went racing through me, but I ignored them.

"Well you shouldn't expect that! You still have to ask! Maybe I want to go with some other senior!" I snapped, but even as I said it I realized it wasn't true. Axel's entire aura changed from that one sentence, turning the atmosphere from romantic to tense.

"Oh. Is that so?" Axel challenged while his expression grew dark. "You would rather take Reno, right?"

"No! Gross, of course not!"

"I bet you still think about him fucking you! That's why you still won't fuck me, isn't it?" Axel shouted, slamming a fist against the bookcase directly behind me. Thank goodness it didn't fall over. I jumped, feeling my own anger flare up inside of me.

"You're being a dick! I never said I wanted to take Reno, you asshole, I would much rather go with you! I just wanted you to ask romantically, you dumbass!" I screamed back at him, grabbing the first book I saw and throwing it at him. It hit him square in the face, and satisfied, I stormed away from him.

Axel blinked for a second, taken aback, before letting out a breath in self-loathing and running after me. "Angel, wait!"

I whirled around to face him again, realizing that I still wasn't finished. "Oh! And as for fucking, maybe the reason I haven't given in to you yet is because I'm scared! Ever think about that?"

Axel listened to me humbly as I continued my tirade, only speaking again when I stopped yelling enough to gain my breath back. "Are you finished?"

I glared up at him through my panting. "Yes."

"Good." Axel murmured quietly. He pulled me into his embrace, wrapping his long arms around me so I felt enveloped in warmth. It only took a second before I lost control and melted into him, hating myself for being so freaking easy.

"I'm sorry." He whispered into my hair, placing chaste kisses to my head. "I let my jealousy get the best of me again."

"Axel…" I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist (it was all I could reach). "I'm dating you for a reason. I..like you. A lot."

Axel snorted tenderly. "You 'like' me? Is that all?"

"Well…maybe I might actually…"

"Oh my goodness…we did date, didn't we?" I gasped aloud, staring with wide eyes up at Axel. He turned away from my shocked gaze and slowly began climbing up the stairs again.

"Come on, Roxas. Let's go."

I heard him give the command, but I wasn't really registering it. Suddenly desperate for air, I raced past him up the stairs, almost shoving him down in my panic.

Everything Olette said was true. Everything Axel said was true. Everything Hayner said was half-true (his biasness couldn't be helped).

I was supposed to be in love with Axel Highwind. But instead my mind was filled with Namine.

Finally reaching the top floor, I swung open the door, taking a deep breath as chilly air whipped around me and tickled my cheeks.

I carefully walked to the edge of the tower and sat down, wrapping my arms around my legs. Everything was so messed up!

The door suddenly opened then closed behind me, and, to my shock, I didn't flinch like I thought I would. Axel cautiously sat beside, also silent.

Finally, he murmured, "I loved you. So much."

I looked at him pitifully. "I wish I could be in love with you, Axel."

"But you love Namine." Axel spoke softly. "And I've…come to terms with it."

"She moved to Zanarkand!" I wailed, unable to hold in my despair any longer. "She's…so…far…away!"

Axel chuckled a bit before clearing his throat and pretending to cough at my glare. "You're completely right. She's really, really, really far away. Maybe you should move on."

I stood up quickly, almost falling in my attempts to get away from him. Axel actually had to reach out and grab the back of my shirt to keep me from falling off the side of the clock tower.

"Watch it!"

"How could you say that? 'Move on'? You dick! I actually almost felt—ugh, forget it! I'm leaving!" I shouted angrily, striding towards the door. "And don't you dare follow!"

Axel chuckled fondly, giving me a cheeky grin. "Trust me, I won't. But my eyes certainly will be."

True to form, his eyes were glued inappropriately to my ass.

I reddened indignantly before huffing and running into the staircase. I couldn't stand him!

Working on my assignment—which turned out to be an incredibly complex project that involved planning an imaginary business proposal for a major corporation (though the write-up seemed like something Hayner would write)—took a little more than four weeks to complete.

Four weeks of flirty, amusing, stimulating…hell.

During the first week, after the clock tower incident, Axel made up for it by buying me some incredibly expensive sea salt popsicles that we enjoyed while watching the sunset. While watching the sunset…it belonged in a damn romance novel!

During the second week, I got in a fight with a freshman who dared to feel me up while I was trying to pee (why did that keep happening?), in which Axel broke our fight up before I could get caught by the principle. Then, in a show of understanding, he convinced Mrs. Mulan to let us spar in the Combat room after school so I could blow off some steam. It was actually…really thoughtful.

During the third week, Axel, who was apparently earning his fan club back now that his spirits were higher, defended me against an indignant junior, who didn't think it was fair that we were hanging out again so soon after my amnesia…especially when he could be hanging out with her. I have to admit…it felt nice to have someone on my side for once.

During the fourth week of hell, the week that our assignment was due, I couldn't hide my feelings anymore.

Fucking damn it all, I had a stupid, pathetic, irritating crush on Axel Highwind.

It was idiotic! Four weeks ago, I wanted nothing to do with him! I found him disgusting, annoying, and a waste of my time. But now that I was remembering little tidbits about him…and now that he was showing me that I was completely wrong about him…I couldn't stop my heart from pounding whenever I saw him.

The worst part was that four weeks ago, I insisted that I could never have dated him or loved him…but now I could understand what "old Roxas" saw in him.

"I wish I could be in love with you, Axel."

There was no more wishing necessary.

I was in love with Axel, plain and simple.

Olette squealed loudly, clapping her hands so obnoxiously that I was afraid Sora or Cloud would know what we were talking about. We were sitting in my kitchen, sipping apple juice, as I confessed to her everything that I had been thinking.

I figured that if there was anyone who could understand what I was feeling, it was her—Olette had known each and every side of me, so she knew me the best out of anyone…well, except Hayner. But even he had been distant lately…sometimes I even caught him hanging out with Axel of all people, even though he swore that he hated him.

"This is great, Roxas! When are you going to tell him?" She demanded eagerly, scooting closer to me in her chair. I flinched ever so slightly at her proximity before shaking it off and shrugging ominously.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe…never." I trailed off, looking away with a light blush on my face. She slammed down her apple juice in frustrated shock.

"Roxas Strife, that man has loved you since the beginning of time!" She exclaimed, shaking me with blatant disregard to my aversion to human contact.

I scoffed softly. "Does time really have a beginning?"

Of course, my avoidance tactic was immediately thwarted as she ignored my statement. "What are you afraid of?"

I toyed with the string hanging from my hoodie. The truth was…"He probably still loves the "old me", so what hope is there?"

Olette stared at me sympathetically before gently saying, "Roxas, your identity has been something you've struggled with your whole life. All I'm thinking now is…if you don't love yourself, how can you ask anyone else to?"

"That's why I'm not telling him, dummy!" I quipped, taking a long gulp of apple juice to avoid any more conversation on the matter. She sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose like she was getting very frustrated with me.

That was always a warning sign to watch out.

"Besides," I added with a nonchalant smirk, "I still love Namine more, so…there's that."

Olette hid a smile in her hand, giving me a serious face that seemed a wee bit on the mocking side…but maybe I was seeing things. "Roxas…Namine is in Zanarkand."

I frowned at her, scratching at a scab on my arm to give me something to do. "I know, jeez."

"Then move on and get under someone new! Preferably Axel Highwind!" Olette squealed, hopping away with a giggle at my half-hearted smack on her arm.

She was so silly.

But maybe…maybe she was right.

Maybe it was time to give this Axel thing a chance.

Meanwhile, in a place not so far away…

"Did you ever love him, Miss Namine?" Namine's kind, curious butler asked her as he fluffed the pillows behind her. She opened her mouth to answer, but was only able to cough forcefully into her hands. When she pulled away, blood remained on her palms.

"Namine!" He exclaimed, reaching for the telephone on her dresser to call the hospital. But she shook her head weakly at him with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry…I don't need it. Once Roxas breaks the spell he's under, my life force will come back to me." She informed him with a quiver in her voice. "He'll do it. I just know it."

The elderly man gasped, clutching his heart to avoid some kind of heart attack. "Namine, you didn't…you used your life force to place that spell on him."

Namine clasped her hands together apologetically. "Not exactly…you see, Roxas' current problems are all one spell: Roxas will become one self—his true self—if he is united with his true love; Axel must fall in love and recognize this true self for the spell to be broken. Love spells are powerful…so to bind it and make it so, I used my life force."

"Miss Namine…"

Namine smiled. "Don't worry so much! Once the spell is broken, my life force will flow back to me. Don't you remember? Xion bounded Roxas and I because she didn't want me to end up alone…but because I couldn't reciprocate his feelings, she…she died."

Both of them frowned at the unspoken truth. The same fate would come to Namine if Axel and Roxas did not fall in love.

"But I believe in them!" Namine pressed at her butler's skeptical look. "Love will prevail."

At least…she hoped so.

Dah end.

Just kidding, there's one more chapter! Go on...it's right over there! Go read it! Go!