Author's note: I'm surprised people are actually reading this! It means a lot to me that you guys are reading it. I'm still not entirely sure how many chapters I'm going to make this, but it'll most definitely be less than 20. (I have a plot setup… but I don't think I could make it last that long!) The first chapter came out shorter than I would have liked… but I figure it's more of an introduction to the plot and who's going to be in the fic, etc. So… thanks for reading! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated, but not absolutely needed.

Sad Eyes

Demyx groaned as he was awoken by the obnoxious beeping of his alarm clock. He blinked at the harsh sunlight shining directly onto his face through the curtains before turning over and sitting up. He smiled as he remembered it was Sunday, and there still wouldn't be any school until the next day.

Judging by the silence in the house, his sister Paine wasn't awake yet. He got up out of bed, stretching and yawning before heading downstairs.

Paine's probably going to expect me to get the newspaper off the porch this time. He thought to himself sleepily, walking through the living room to the front door. He undid the lock, and froze when he opened the door.

…! O-oh my… what is that..?

He gaped down at the small form asleep on his porch, frozen on the spot. It appeared to be a boy about a year younger than him, but it couldn't be human. Coming out of the slate-blue hair, he saw two periwinkle colored cat ears. Curled up with his legs, was a fairly long tail of the same color, but how?

..I-I should go get Paine… Yeah! She'll know what to do! He thought, about to finally turn around. However, he stopped again when the boy on the porch stirred. Uh-oh…

The boy uncurled out of his sleeping position, about to sit up when he froze. The ears pressed down flat against his hair in fear, seeming to know there was someone behind him. "…!"

".. Uh … Hey there…" Demyx said, kneeling down on the porch, reaching out a hand to gently grab his shoulder. The boy hissed once the hand made contact, and he began to shake out of fear. "Hey… It's alright. I won't hurt you." Demyx promised, "...Why don't you come inside? You're freezing cold."

"…I-I'm fine…" The voice sounded unsure, and faltered on the last syllable.

Demyx was surprised when the boy spoke. Somehow, the voice sounded oddly familiar. He shook his head. There was no way. "…You're not okay." Demyx responded, "… If you stay outside for too long, you'll catch a cold."

Demyx didn't wait for another response, moving the hand from the boy's shoulder to down into his hand. He stood up from kneeling, forcing the boy to stand up with him. The boy was noticeably shorter, and his skin was pale, making it look like porcelain.

The boy seemed to become more afraid as he began to lead him inside, his limbs stiff, and ears still pressed down. How am I going to explain this to Paine? He thought to himself as he turned and then closed and locked the front door again. Was it just him, or did the boy shiver at the sound of the lock clicking shut?

He sighed as he motioned to the living room couch.

".. Uh … Take a seat." Demyx said, trying to think of an explanation, "…I'm going to be right back."

He didn't wait for a response as he walked down the hall towards his sister's bedroom. He knocked lightly on the door, and heard a quiet and sleepy 'come in'. He hesitated before doing so, and closed the door behind him.

Paine was awake, sitting on the edge of her bed, smiling at him. "Need something, Dem?" She asked. She had been about to go take her morning shower before he had come in, new clothes for the day beside her on the bed, and a towel slung over her shoulder.

"..I-I uh…" He was unsure of how to start, scratching the back of his head out of impulse, "Can you… uh… Come look at something in the living room for me?" He asked.

"The living room? Why, what's in there?" She asked, confused.

"Uh… just come with me. You'll see what I mean." He replied quickly, opening the door again and motioning to it.

Paine shrugged it off and got up, the towel still slung over her shoulder. The two began to head towards the living room.

Zexion shook in fear as he sat with his knees pulled to his chest in the corner of the gray couch, pressing himself between the arm and the back. Of all the house porches on the street, why had he fallen asleep on the blonde's? He knew right away it was the same one he had seen on the beach yesterday. He stared down at his pale feet, beginning to wonder where the blonde had gone, and what he was going to do to him.

His sniffed the air as he heard two sets of footsteps coming towards him from the hall. He could smell the blonde's ocean sea-salt scent, and someone else's … was that leather and iron? He looked up and saw the blonde return with another blonde girl. She seemed to be older, and was taller than him. They seemed to have the same hair, cut in similar style, and the same nose. He didn't look to see if their eyes were the same, too scared to look her in the eyes. He figured they were siblings, the girl being the older one.

"..Oh my… ", Paine said, instantly seeing Zexion squished up in the corner of the couch. His ears will still pressed down flat against his head, signaling he was very frightened.

Completely unsure of what to do, and bit worried that it may not be safe to have this odd boy inside with them, Paine leaned down towards Demyx and whispered, "Dem… What are we supposed to do…?"

"I-I don't know… "

"Should we call the police..?"

Demyx instantly rejected that idea. That would be almost like catching big foot and then calling the police, but on a smaller scale. Either they wouldn't believe them, or they'd overreact, and take the boy to some horrible testing center. Though he didn't know the boy, he didn't have the heart to risk such a thing happening. He shook his head.

Paine sighed and slowly started to walk up to the boy on the couch, not wanting to alarm him as she got down on one knee beside him. "Hey, kid… you have a name?" She asked him, her voice soft.

He felt a bit safer having a small feeling they wouldn't hurt him or turn him in, though he couldn't be too sure. He nodded, before mumbling a response, "M-my name… is Zexion…"

She smiled softly at him and nodded, "Alright Zexion… My name is Paine, and that's my brother Demyx."

Demyx, beginning to feel a little left out, came forward and joined them, sitting on the couch, though on the other side, wanting to give Zexion his space.

"Where did you come from Zexion..?" Demyx asked, curious.

Zexion didn't give an answer, only staring down at his feet. If he told them he had escaped from the testing facility, they could return him; then all his efforts would be wasted.

Paine and Demyx felt awkward in the silence, and decided to try a different question.

"Do you have a home?" Paine asked.

Zexion shook his head. He never had a home, and probably never would.

Paine went silent after that, feeling awkward now, until Demyx finally spoke up.

"Well… Zexion…" He started, unsure of how to begin with what he was going to say, "…How would you… like to stay with us for now..?"

Both Paine and Zexion were confused and a bit unsure when he made that offer.

Paine was unsure because they didn't know very much yet about Zexion. Also, Demyx went to school, and she had a job to go to during the day, Saturday mornings and Sundays were her only days off, besides holidays. Would it be a good idea to leave him home alone all day? Or would they try to enroll him in school with Demyx? Zexion seemed smart enough to be in all the same classes… if not, he could very well be ahead of him. But the school would ask for more information on Zexion; they'd want to know what school he'd gone to before, as well as other personal information. How would they supply that?

Zexion was confused and unsure about the offer, because he had just met Demyx and Paine. Despite how he had seen him act on the beach the previous afternoon, when he had seen Demyx and his friends on the beach and found that Demyx seemed to act rather nicely, he still didn't know if it would be a good idea to stay. He didn't want to get in the way of anything, and he still wasn't entirely sure if he could trust them. Trust was something Zexion had very little of when it came to entirely human people. He'd been betrayed by them so many times.

It had become deathly silent in the room once again, and not wanting to seem rude at all, and deciding to risk it, Zexion looked up for the first time, his one visible blue eye clouded with fear and worry, he slowly nodded, deciding to see if it could work out.

"I-If it's not t-too much trouble… I'll stay…" He said, stumbling over his first words due to the overwhelming flow of emotions he suddenly felt.