As October dwelled on, the campus began to show signs of change. The staff was really into Halloween so the entire campus was altered to look dark and gothic. Pumpkins were placed along the sides of buildings and bats were seen roaming the campus. Students were excited for Halloween. There was going to be a huge party held in the main building of the campus. Roxas really didn't want to go but he was somehow persuaded by Marluxia after he brought up Roxas owed him for the car repairs. With a scowl, he accepted his fate.

The weeks before dragged on as usual. Roxas found himself traveling to Axel's apartment for help with his math more and more frequently as the semester progressed. He arrived at the parking lot and walked inside the apartment. The rest of the guys were used to seeing him but there were a couple of new faces.

"Oh! Who's the cutie?" a girl asked.

"Freshmen," another said with a snobby attitude.

"Selphie, be nice."

"Hey Roxas!" Riku called from the kitchen as he worked on making a stir fry.

"Hey," Roxas replied. Terra came down stairs and wrapped his arms around the first girl, who had blue hair.

"Who's the cutie?" the girl asked.

"That's Roxas. He's just here to see Axel. Roxas, this is Aqua. She's my girlfriend," Terra introduced.

"Hello," Aqua greeted. She seemed to be very nice.

"Are we ever going to leave?" Selphie asked. Roxas walked past the kitchen.

"Who's she?" Roxas whispered in Terra's ear.

"One of Seifer's girls. Don't ask which. I think this is his third real girlfriend this year," Terra muttered back.

"Real girlfriend?"

"More than just a one night joy ride." Roxas scowled.

"Thanks for sharing." Terra chuckled and kissed Aqua on the cheek. Roxas made his way upstairs, running into Seifer on his way down.

"Watch it, chicken wuss!" he warned. Roxas ignored him and continued up the second flight of stairs. He found Axel in his room working on the floor. The rest of the surfaces were covered in large posters with various logo designs. Marluxia was talking loudly into his phone, arguing with someone over a group project.

"Back again, eh?" Axel asked with a smile.

"Yeah. There's another test coming up and I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes," Roxas explained.

"Then we'd better find somewhere else to work. He's been on the phone for three hours." Axel made a gun with his fingers and pulled the "trigger" with the barrel pointed at this head. Roxas smirked. Axel packed up some of his homework and they headed back downstairs. They set up on the coffee table in the living room. The only other person home was Riku and he was busy cooking.

Roxas worked on his own, only asking Axel questions when he was truly stuck. While Roxas worked, Axel reviewed a multitude of notes.

"Hey, you guys want anything?" Riku asked before he headed upstairs with his food. Roxas was about to protest but then remembered he needed to eat more until his weight was deemed healthy again.

"Sure," Roxas said. Riku went to the fridge and pulled out a soda. He gave it to Roxas before heading upstairs with his food. Roxas opened his soda with a snap and sipped at it. "You want some?" Roxas asked Axel, offering him the can. He stopped when he realized Axel was asleep on the couch. His notes lay sprawled on his stomach and his head sat on the armrest, his face resting against the side of the couch. Roxas smiled and put the soda down, returning to his work.

He skipped over the problems he had troubles with so he could Axel about them when he woke up. Roxas finished the rest of the problems before he was done so he pulled out his book for English Literature: Walden. It was dry but Roxas tried to absorb as much information as he could. He was halfway through reading the assigned pages when Axel sat up.

"Get your beauty sleep?" Roxas teased. Axel didn't respond. He quietly excused himself and went upstairs. Roxas watched him leave, curious about Axel's behavior. He continued reading and the sound of running water echoed from the upper levels. 'He's taking a shower?' Roxas asked himself. He shrugged it off.

When Roxas finished reading, he checked the time on his phone. 9:36. Axel was still in the shower. Roxas wondered how long he was going to take. Riku came downstairs a few minutes later and started doing dishes. Roxas went to the kitchen and sat on a stool, bringing his soda with him.

"How'd you get stuck here?" Roxas asked. Riku looked up from his dishes.

"There was an opening listed last spring. Some guy named Vexen graduated so I moved in during the summer."

"Do you like living here?" Riku shrugged.

"It's chaotic most of the time but I don't mind. Lexaeus doesn't say anything so we never argue."

"Have any friends on campus?"

"No. I live fourteen hours away from here so it's a bit of a drive. I come from a small town too. How about you?"

"I'm the only one from my class here. I grew up on the suburbs of a metropolitan area."

"How big was your graduating class?"

"700."

"Whoa! That's a big class. I graduated with thirteen."

"How can your class be that small?"

"You've never seen a small town school before?" Riku asked, glancing over his shoulder. Roxas shook his head. "Well, they're nothing special. I think we had fifty students in our high school. I bet you had at least 3000."

"2900."

"How'd you rank? I got third, but I suppose that doesn't look very impressive."

"I was one of six students who were up for valedictorian."

"Seriously?! Did you have to give a speech?"

"No. They didn't let me."

"They didn't…let you?" Riku looked up from his dishes. Roxas was staring sadly at his soda can, his eyes out of focus.

"No one wanted me there. When I left home, no one missed me." Riku wondered what it was like to be Roxas. He came from a small town where everyone knew everybody. He constantly kept in touch with his old classmates via e-mail and texts. Riku couldn't imagine what it would be like to leave high school with not a single friend to hang onto.

'It sounds like no one wanted him around. How could he get the entire school to turn their backs on him?' Riku went back to his dishes, leaving Roxas alone to his silence. Axel made his way back downstairs, his hair dripping.

"You're still here?" Axel asked, sounding shocked. Roxas looked up from his soda.

"Yeah. I still have questions."

"Oh, right." Roxas and Axel went back to the living room and continued to work on the harder math problems. As Axel leaned over Roxas's shoulder to study his work, Roxas felt a drop of water land on the back of his neck.

It was freezing cold.

XxXxX

Pence jumped at the sound of Roxas's phone ringing. He glanced up at his roommate. 'Still sleeping.' Pence stood and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Who's this?" the caller asked.

"Pence."

"Oh, right. Hey, do you know where Roxas is? He was supposed to show up here two hours ago. Is he alright?"

"Yeah. He's still sleeping. You're welcome to come over and wake him up."

"Can't you?"

"Can but won't. He gets scary mad when you wake him up before he wants to."

"Got it. I'll be over soon then. Would you like me to send a text?"

"Nah. I'll just watch out the window."

"Okay." The caller hung up. Pence put Roxas's phone down and waited for the caller to arrive. He peered out the window every five minutes. Finally, someone walked up the stairs that didn't look like a freshmen. Pence grabbed his keys and went downstairs to let him in.

"Thanks," Axel said as Pence held the door open to him.

"No problem." They headed upstairs. Pence packed up his towel and shampoo upon arrival, declaring he would be in the shower to avoid Roxas's wrath. Axel was soon left alone in the room with the sleeping boy.

"Roxas, time to wake up," Axel muttered softly. Roxas's back was turned. Axel poked the teen's shoulder. With a groan, Roxas rolled over. His hand flopped over the side of the bed. Axel was in awe over the sleeping teen. His face was so peaceful. Axel suddenly didn't feel like he should wake him, but then he remembered Roxas had an exam tomorrow and thought it be better to wake him. He poked the sleeping teen on the forehead.

"Rise and shine," he called. Roxas pinched his eyes shut before slowly opening them. He saw Axel's face smiling back at him. "Morning beautiful."

"Morning." Roxas closed his eyes again and Axel tussled his hair. Suddenly Roxas realized where he was. He sat up and smashed his forehead against the ceiling. "What the Hell are you doing here?!" he shouted. Axel burst into a fit of laughter.

"I came to wake you up. You seem bent on sleeping though so I almost left you behind." Roxas rubbed his head and checked his clock. 12:45.

"Shit." Roxas wasn't sure what he was more pissed at: Axel being in his room or the fact he slept through his alarm.

"You want some lunch?"

"I want you out of my room."

"No chance of that happening until you get out of bed." Roxas scowled and slipped out from his loft. He wore a Slipknot tank top and a pair of short black shorts.

"Happy?" Roxas growled.

"I'm always happy to see you." Roxas felt his face grow hot. "Get changed. I'll order some lunch and then we can head to the library like you wanted." Roxas grumbled as he fished around in his wardrobe for clothes. Axel ordered food from the Chinese restaurant. He even ordered food for Pence since he was nice enough to let Axel inside. When he hung up, he turned to see what Roxas was doing.

His heart froze and his stomach dropped.

A scar shaped almost like a spider web was on the center of his back. Roxas pulled his dark red long sleeved shirt over his head and the scar was gone. Axel really wanted to press Roxas for the details but he could tell Roxas was already pissed enough. His questions were going to have to wait.

Pence arrived when he was finished with his shower and came back to boxes of Chinese food. He was ecstatic Axel had bought him lunch. The trio ate mostly in silence. Axel and Pence made small talk while Roxas grumbled over his food. When they were done, Axel and Roxas took their leave. Roxas followed Axel to his car in the parking ramp.

Before Roxas could climb inside, he felt Axel lean against him from behind. His chin rested on Roxas's shoulder.

"What?" Roxas asked sharply.

"Are you putting on any weight?" Roxas felt his heart skip lightly as he sighed.

"Not really."

"What was the target weight you were supposed to achieve?"

"Ten pounds."

"And?"

"I've only gained four." Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas's waist. He could feel the teens ribs and muscle. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him.

"Have you been eating enough?"

"I'm never hungry."

"Oh really?" Axel tipped Roxas's head to the side and bit on the space between his neck and shoulder like a vampire. Roxas felt his face flush. His insides felt like they dropped to the floor. A tiny gasp escaped from his lips. Axel released Roxas and went to the driver side of the car. "You've got to eat more, doctor's orders. We can't have you wasting away."

Roxas felt his entire body shake. 'What's wrong with me? Why is it every time Axel does something weird I react like a little school girl? If it were anyone else I would have beaten the shit out of them. Why is he different?'

"Come on, Roxas. The library doesn't stay open forever," Axel called. Roxas snapped out of his daze and got into the car.

XxXxX

The time for Halloween had come. During the day, students walked around in a variety of creative costumes. Pence ran out of ideas so he just wore his sports jersey and went as a basketball player. Roxas refused to wear a costume of any kind. It wasn't his idea of fun. Halloween was on a Friday night so everyone was excited not to have the school the next day, especially the upper classmen.

Once classes were over for the day, Roxas headed over to Axel's apartment where he was joining the party for a Halloween pre-party get together. Upon his arrival, he was greeted warmly. Even Aqua and Selphie were there. There were some other people Roxas didn't recognize and was introduced to. Riku brought a friend named Sora with, who was extremely bubbly for a guy. Lexaeus brought a friend as well. Her name was Larxene. Her hair reminded Roxas of a bug. Finally there was Luxord. He was rather full of himself and was Zexion's older brother in grad school.

After Roxas was introduced, he found the party was one short. Axel wasn't there. When he asked Marluxia, he was told he was still doing homework in his room. Roxas went upstairs to find him working on another paper. Roxas sat on the floor and leaned against the drawers of his desk. Axel was too focused to speak. Roxas waited for awhile before he looked up at Axel. The man was completely absorbed in his work. Roxas wondered if Axel's trick worked in reverse.

He stood and leaned against Axel's hunched over back, resting his head on Axel's shoulder. He noticed Axel stopped typing for just a brief moment. 'Maybe it's not just Axel after all.' Roxas thought. He took out one of Axel's ear buds and stuck it in his own. A Japanese pop song played in his head.

"You and your weird music," Roxas muttered. "How can you even understand what they're saying?"

"That's the point," Axel replied flatly. Roxas looked at Axel's MP3 and found the song was called 'Hikari'. Axel spun through the music until it was playing the same song only in English. After listening to half of the song, Roxas spun through more of Axel's music, curious to what he listened to. He eventually found another album by the same artist as 'Hikari' only the song was called 'Passion'. Underneath was the English version called 'Sanctuary'. Roxas decided to listen to the version Axel preferred: the Japanese.

The song felt relaxing and nostalgic. Roxas closed his eyes and simply listened as Axel typed. With his ear against Axel's neck, he could hear the elder male hum alone to the song. Roxas felt himself smiling.

And so did Axel.

He stopped typing his paper and rested his head against Roxas's. He was surprised when he heard Roxas start to mutter the lyrics for the song in nearly flawless Japanese. 'He knows this song by heart?' Axel listened to Roxas sing quietly. His voice was beautiful, almost chilling.

They were interrupted by Marluxia, who stuck his head in the room. "There you are!" Roxas snapped upright, ripping the bud from his ear. Axel sighed and saved his paper. He wasn't going to get any more work done. "I have a gift for your Roxas." Roxas frowned.

"I'm already going to the party. What more do you want?"

"You need a costume to gain entry."

"Hell no."

"Close your eyes." Roxas reluctantly obeyed. Marluxia slipped something over his head and fastened something to his dog collar. "Okay, you can open them." Roxas opened his eyes to see Marluxia holding up a mirror in front of him. On his head rested a headband with cat ears on them. A silver bell hung from his dog collar.

"You made me a cat."

"Yes! You are simply adorable." Roxas was wearing his sleeveless sweatshirt and black cargo pants so he really did look like a cat. Axel smirked at him.

"Meow, kitty," he teased. Roxas hissed.

"Get your costume on you oaf. We have pictures to take before we go."

"Oh Hell no…" Roxas protested but it was no use. Marluxia dragged him downstairs so Axel could change. When Roxas came downstairs he could see everyone was in costume as well.

Marluxia was dressed as Princess Peach for some reason, dress, umbrella and all. Demyx was dressed as a mad scientist. Zexion was wearing a suit and top hat, cosplaying as an anime character. Lexaeus cheated and wore his doctor's uniform. Larxene was dressed as a vampire, fake fangs included. Sora was dressed in a black outside with a small pumpkin on his head and tiny black wings on his back. Riku wore a bikers outfit completed with leather jacket and pants. Seifer was dressed like Ike from Brawl. Terra wore an outfit that was supposed to be a sexy construction worker: hard hat, pants with suspenders, and no shirt. Aqua was dressed like a magic girl and Selphie wore a dress to imitate some actress Roxas didn't care about. Luxord was dressed like an old fashioned black jack dealer.

They waited for Axel to come down. As he entered the lower level, everyone turned to see his costume. Roxas felt his heart flip. 'Dear God, why is he dressed like that?' Axel was dressed in grunge and not just any grunge: steampunk grunge. His torn black shirt and pants were accented with dark brown leather and copper metal. He wore heavy black boots. Copper metal parts were clipped around his right arm, making look robotic. A pair of copper wings hung on his back, clinking with each step. His eyes were surrounded with heavy black liner and his lips were dark red. His hair was styled instead of the normal spikes. Axel had used a straightener to make his hair look flat. Half of his face was covered while the rest of his hair was pulled back behind his head.

"Wicked!" Demyx cheered.

"Nice job Seifer. Those turned out great," Marluxia complimented, motioning towards the copper accessories.

"Damn straight!" Seifer barked. Marluxia got everyone together for various pictures. Some were of groups and others individuals. When he wanted one of Roxas, the teen was very reluctant.

"Just one?" Marluxia begged.

"Fine," Roxas murmured.

"You have to pose."

"Why?"

"It's cuter that way." Roxas scowled. He raised his hands like paws. "Oh, come on. Actually try." Roxas sighed. He tipped his head to the side and raised one paw slightly above the other.

"Nyan." Marluxia snapped the picture, a bit baffled.

"Nyan?"

"Isn't that what cats say?"

"I guess…if they're made of Poptarts." Roxas sighed, wishing they would just get to the party. Everyone finally had enough pictures and headed outside. Three people crammed into the cab of Seifer's truck and the rest sat around the edge of the back. Axel sat closest to the cab and Roxas was next to him.

"You'd better hang on," Marluxia warned, gripping the edges of the truck tightly. The others did the same. Seifer slammed his foot on the accelerator and they sped off towards the school. Roxas clung onto the metal sides tightly. He glanced at Axel. His eyes were closed, lost in thought. His hair flew wildly in the wind around his face.

Roxas turned his gaze down to the truck bed. He noticed the tips of Axel's fingers were centimeters from his. Roxas inched his hand closer until he wrapped two of his fingers around Axel's. The red head opened his eyes and looked over at Roxas. The teen's gaze was on the truck bed. Axel smiled and gave Roxas's fingers a reassuring squeeze.

When they arrived at the main hall, everyone unloaded and Seifer went to park his truck. Music was pounding from inside. Everyone made their way inside and split up to various parts of the hall. Some went for food while others went to dance. The loud beat of the bass was comforting to Roxas but the pop music playing just made him cringe.

"Hey! You made it!" Pence pushed his way through the crowd with Hayner and Olette. Pence was still in his jersey. Olette was in a magic girl costume while Hayner wore an army uniform.

"Hey, Rox, nice costume," Hayner teased. Roxas scowled.

"Don't be mean, Hayner. I think he looks cute as a cat," Olette chipped in.

"Cute's not the word to describe him with." Olette stuck her tongue out at Hayner.

"We'll be around. Feel free to come find us if you want," Pence offered. The trio pushed their way back through the crowd.

"You should go hang with your friends," Axel suggested.

"You're my friend," Roxas reminded. Axel's eyebrows raised.

"Really?" Roxas bit his tongue and his scowl deepened. Axel ruffled his hair. "Don't be such a dead weight. We're here to have fun, remember?"

"I don't have fun."

"Then you should try it." Roxas wasn't sure what to do so he found himself following Axel most of the time. He tried not to stare at Axel as much as he could but his costume was just so appealing towards Roxas's emo vibe. They floated around the hall, talking to various groups of people and professors. In between they took food from the various buffet tables. Axel made sure Roxas cleaned his plate every time, leaving the teen feeling like a stuffed turkey.

As the night grew later, more of the upper classmen showed up before they left to go on their drinking escapades. Roxas sat sipping a punch at one of the back tables while Axel was off elsewhere. Marluxia slid into a seat next to him.

"Having fun, kitten?" Roxas hissed. "You need to have some fun. Why don't you go dance?"

"I don't dance."

"You don't dance or you don't grind?"

"Both." Roxas took another sip of his punch.

"Even if it was with Axel?" Roxas choked and punch sprayed across the table. He coughed to try and clear his lungs. Marluxia just smirked at him.

"Fuck off!" Roxas shouted over the music, ditching the table. Marluxia wasn't letting him go that easily. He grabbed Roxas by the wrist and dragged him into the mosh pit of dancing bodies.

"You dance tonight and you're debts repaid."

"If I didn't owe you money you would be so dead right now." The song changed to an upbeat techno beat. The mob parted as the expert dancers showed off their moves in the center of the circle.

"You should get in there!" Marluxia shouted.

"You wouldn't dare!" Roxas protested.

"Whoops!" Marluxia pushed Roxas and tripped him at the same time, sending him sprawling into the circle. He was closed off from any route of escape. He really didn't want to dance. As the music beat on, he closed his eyes. On watchers were confused by his lack of dancing.

Roxas took a deep breath. 'No one's watching. I'm alone. Here goes nothing.' Roxas moved farther into the circle and dropped to the floor.

The crowd roared. Roxas was break dancing. His legs swung around the floor wildly but in a graceful manor. Marluxia stood in shock. "Damn, the kid's good." Roxas popped off the floor and started interacting with the other dancers. They formed intricate combos and moves then sent the crowd in a frenzy. Roxas spun and found Aqua there.

"Hey!" she called. Roxas grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"You have to trust me."

"What? Um, okay…" Roxas spun her around faster and faster until she could barely keep her feet on the floor. Then he moved his hands to her waist and scooped her into the air so she was upside down over his head. Roxas leaned back and Aqua felt a sense of panic. Her feet touched the ground and Roxas vaulted over her head, flipping back onto his feet. The crowd cheered wildly and the song switched again. Roxas was left breathless. Aqua offered him a hand.

"That was great!" she exclaimed. "I've never felt such a rush."

"Sorry. I got carried away," Roxas apologized.

"Roxas! You have got to tell me where you learned to dance like that!" Marluxia demanded. Roxas wasn't sure what to say.

"Nice job out there," Axel commented, breaking through the crowd. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Roxas's face.

He was smiling.

It wasn't his usual smirk or half-hearted grin. It was a full open mouthed smile.

"Thanks." Axel went over to Roxas and ruffled his hair.

"Good kitty." Roxas's grin turned mischievous.

"Nyan!" He leapt at Axel, catching him completely off guard. Roxas bit down gently on his non-robotic arm.

"Killer cat on the loose!" Axel warned. He patted the top of Roxas's head. "Down, boy." Roxas let go, his canines flashing in the light. Axel dragged him away from Marluxia, who was still gushing over Roxas's dancing. Roxas wondered where Axel was leading him.

They made their way into a bathroom on the far side of the hall. It was devoid of anyone. Axel pulled Roxas into the handicap stall and locked the door. For once, Roxas was concerned. Axel pressed Roxas up against the wall. Their eyes stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Roxas's heart pounded.

"What are you getting at?" Axel asked.

"I don't understand." The elder male looked into the younger's face. It was devoid of his usual grim demeanor. For once, Roxas simply looked like a lost boy looking for something to hold onto.

"I'm not the type of guy to go chasing after other guys, but for some reason I keep coming back to you. I've given up so much for you and yet you're still your sour self. I don't know why, but I want to know more about you every second you're with me. When you're not, I can't concentrate. So I don't know what you're up to, but it's messing with my head. Either explain or knock it off." Roxas stared wide eyed at Axel. His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest.

"I…uh…" Roxas didn't know what to say. Axel leaned closer so their faces were practically touching. The eyeliner made Axel's eyes pop. Roxas wanted to die.

He reacted by lunging forward and biting down on the space between Axel's neck and shoulder. "Ow!" Axel hissed. Roxas didn't let go. Axel ripped his attacker off and slammed his head into the tile behind him. A piece cracked and sliced the back of Roxas's head. A thin trickle of blood ran down the wall.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Axel asked.

"I don't know." Roxas's body sagged.

Suddenly the door to the stall was kicked in. Axel whirled around to find a younger guy behind them. "What the Hell do you want?" Axel snapped. The man grinned. Roxas's eyes grew wide.

"Xaldin," Roxas gasped. He broke out into a cold sweat. The guy had black dreds pulled back into a pony tail and side burns.

"Roxas. I didn't expect to find you here. I also didn't think you would be so easy to forget what happened that spring two and a half years ago." Roxas's face paled. Axel stepped back from the teen and glared at the man named Xaldin.

"What's your problem?" Axel snapped.

"Axel, good to see you again. I see you've forgotten your past too." Axel stiffened.

"You! You're that jackass freshmen who kept pushing the Student Council to make my life Hell."

"So you do remember. I suppose you never heard of what happened to the school after you left."

"Shut up!" Roxas snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked.

"Oh Roxas, you can't hide your past from your friends. During our sophomore year, our school had a shooter incident. Fourty six students were injured. Fifteen students were killed. One was left critically injured." Roxas's mind flashed back to high school. His knees gave out as he desperately tried to block the images from his mind.

"No…there was so much blood…" Roxas whimpered. The bathroom door burst opened and the rest of Axel's party flooded inside.

"Axel, we were starting to…" Marluxia started. "What's going on?"

Xaldin turned to face the group. "The truth. You can't hide it from them Roxas. Tell them!" Xaldin barked. Roxas's body trembled violently.

"Leave him alone!" Riku shouted.

"It was spring," Roxas started quietly. "Just an average school day. Summer was only weeks away. They were going to go to the beach…"

"Roxas, stop talking!" Zexion cried.

"I let him get close. I trusted him. He took advantage of me. I was the first hostage. Xigbar went nuts and started shooting. I couldn't stop him."

"Roxas…" Demyx muttered, frightened.

"He had an automatic. He just let loose on the students in the hall. He took three more hostages. He tied me to a chair. One by one he shot them in front of me. Their blood wouldn't wash off. It never washed off!"

"Stop treating him like a murderer. He's a victim!" Terra shouted.

"No. He is a murderer," Xaldin clarified. "Go on Roxas."

"He forced me to pull the trigger," Roxas gasped. Tears fell from his eyes. "I shot my friends. I shot my teachers. I shot my girlfriend. Cloud, Leon, Aerith…I killed them all. Then he handed me the gun. There were only two rounds left. "One for me and one for you" he said. He forced the gun under his chin. I pulled the trigger. I killed him. I didn't want to live. I couldn't live. So I tried to end it."

"But you got lucky. Off all of those who were in critical condition, you were the one they chose to save. The little fucker who killed those who tried to save him. The school hated you, the city hated you, and your parents practically disowned you."

"SHUT UP!" Axel slugged Xaldin across the face and slammed him against the wall. "SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Roxas slowly got to his feet. He was like a zombie. Then he started laughing. He was soon in hysterics.

"I KILLED THEM ALL!" Roxas screamed, laughing. He ripped a shard of the broken tile from off of the wall and jabbed it into his left forearm. "I HAVE NO HEART! I'M A FUCKING NOBDY!" Roxas just kept laughing, his eyes wild. He dragged the shard down his arm, cutting his arm deeper and deeper.

Finally, Sora broke from the crowd and strode past Axel. He slapped Roxas across the face. Roxas was left stunned.

"You're not a nobody. You're Roxas, and that's all we care about." Sora lifted Roxas's arm and removed the shard of tile. Lexaeus walked over and took over.

"Axel, let him go," Marluxia commanded. Axel ground his teeth in irritation. "Axel!" The red head let go of Xaldin and let him leave.

"See you around, Roxas," Xaldin said before he left. Roxas was helped to his feet. Lexaeus and Sora tried to support him but Roxas could barely walk. Axel finally stormed over and picked him up bridal style.

"Seifer, go get your truck," Axel muttered, seething with anger.

"Yeah, I'm on it," Seifer replied. He left the group to go find his truck while Axel carried Roxas after him.

"Do you want me to come with?" Marluxia asked as Axel left.

"No. I just want to be alone," Axel growled. Marluxia respected Axel's space and backed off. Axel got into the front and held Roxas in his lap. The teen was lost in a shock induced daze. Seifer took off into the night for the hospital. He didn't want to hear Roxas's back story but it happened. Now he was finding himself feeling sorry for the kid.

'Damn kid. Why did his school have it all backwards? He was forced! That should count for something.' Seifer thought. He sighed.

"Roxas," Seifer called. The teen looked over at the driver. "You're no murderer. You're not the villain. You're the outcast, the fall guy. I was none of those. I stabbed a guy sixteen times back when I was in high school. I spent two years in juvey. I was the bad guy. I found my way around it. You're the victim. You can find your way past it too."

Deep in his mind, Roxas wondered why Seifer was telling him this. He had always been a jerk around Roxas so his empathy seemed out of place. As they continued on their drive, Axel leaned his head against Roxas. He kissed the crown of his head, wrapping his arms tighter around the teen. Roxas closed his eyes and let the night enclose his mind, rendering him unconscious.