Hey guys. I have nothing to do on this Saturday evening so I decided to type the next chapter. Here goes.

A HUGE thank you to those who reviewed. I think I lost all of my reviewers except these good, kind people: Malcolm Yuy, Some.Azn.Guy, XxRandom-Spectre-KunoichixX, Arisa Aihara, Cloudrules11, and Ellie0223. Thank you and I hope you'll review this chapter as well!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH.

Chapter 12: A Sanctuary

The word had spread quite rapidly. When I say 'the word', I mean myself not going to the dance. Selphie was probably heartbroken. She kept avoiding me and ignoring me. I tried talking to her once, but she stalked away from me, right when I was in mid-sentence. I didn't attempt to talk to her again. Actually, I felt relieved that she stayed away from me. I could now think more clearly without having to worry about her.

I already had my fair share of worries.

For instance, Riku. He kept on bragging about how he was going with Namine. And since the date of the dance was drawing closer and closer, everybody kept talking about it. In fact, it was this Friday. It made me sick.

And then there's Cloud.

I didn't want to think about him. Not now, anyway. Later, I would kind a way to contact him and demand my answers.

I sat in Study Hall, thinking of all this. The rest of my friends were with Riku. Hayner told them I had re-met my father. They all attempted to cheer me up, but I ignored them and scolded them. Now they ignored me and avoided me because I was in such an irritating mood.

I felt guilty about that. Did I want to lose all my friends? Of course not. Then why was I pushing them away?

Suddenly, I heard Riku let out a loud laugh and I clenched my pencil tightly. The wood of the pencil hurt my palm, but I was angry at the silver-haired teenager so I ignored the pain. I glanced over and saw Riku, with Namine, talking to Sora. Olette, Tidus, and Pence were a few tables away from Riku and were talking together. They were my only friends that were in Study Hall with me.

I was about to turn away, when I heard Olette say Namine's name. I pretended like I was doing my homework and eavesdropped on them.

"..So what? What do you not get?" I heard Pence ask.

"I don't get why Namine is so upset," Olette answered. They spoke in barely audible voices because they were literally talking behind their friend's backs. "I mean, if Roxas is just a friend, then why is she upset that he was going to take Selphie?"

Olette was right. My stomach fluttered. Did that mean Namine really did have a crush on me? But then, if she did, I had broken her heart. I decided to push down that thought and kept listening to my friends.

"Only Roxas wasn't really taking Selphie," Tidus chimed in. "That's what Sora said, anyway."

How did Sora find out? I wondered, but kept my ears on Olette, Tidus and Pence.

"Yeah, I know that. Selphie... you know Selphie, she always jumps to conclusions. But anyway, that's not the point. If Roxas and Namine were just friends, it would be okay to take Selphie to the dance. Right?"

Tidus scratched his head. "Oh...You're right! So does that mean they like each other?!" Tidus asked, getting excited.

"Shhh!" Pence whispered. "We're talking about them and they're right here in this classroom!"

"Oh right. Sorry." Tidus whispered.

"Poor Roxas..." Olette mumbled. "He likes her and she likes him but...it's all confusing." She sighed.

I frowned as their conversation about Namine and I ended. My friends could probably help me a lot, but I pushed them away. I sighed. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I realized it was time for my next class, Math. I gathered my books and supplies and headed out the door.

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After school, I was planning on walking to my house alone. Even though my friends live near me, they probably wouldn't want to walk with a grumpy kid such as myself.

So, I was completely surprised when someone came up from behind me as I was shutting my locker door.

"Hey, Sora." I grunted.

"Hey." My half-brother replied.

We both stood there for a while, surrounded by an eery silence. I shuffled a bit, uneasily. Sora ran a hand through his hair nervously. Finally, I spoke up.

"Look...Sora, I'm sorry about all this." I told him.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"I mean...well, I've been acting like..well, like an ass, really." I admitted. I paused, looking at Sora's blue eyes. "I've been ignoring you guys and I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you." Sora answered with a sympathetic grin. "You're going through some tough times."

"Yeah..." I agreed. "Well, let's get going."

"Right." Sora nodded.

We exited the school from the back and made our way through the parking lot. Teachers were already getting into their own cars and a group of kids were waiting for the but to come and pick them up. Something was bothering me and I wanted to ask Sora about it. It was about the discussion between Olette, Pence and Tidus that I overheard. I also felt the need to discuss Cloud. After all, he was Sora's father at one point, just like me.

As we walked down the sidewalk, I cleared my throat, preparing to ask my spiky haired half-brother a question. "Hey Sora, do you think Namine...do you think she still likes me?"

Sora turned to look at me. He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah." He finally answered.

"Did you know that she liked me before?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Well...it was the way you guys acted." Sora shrugged. "Plus, Olette was talking about it with Kairi once. I walked in during their conversation, so I only heard that Namine liked you. And I still think she does."

"Why do you think that?" I pressed.

"I don't know. It's just..." He paused to sigh before continuing. "Ever since you guys drifted away from each other, she seems a tad bit depressed lately. She's not that talkative anymore and she doesn't even seem to like Riku, even though he asked her to the dance and she said yes."

"Hmm...I see." I said. I felt like I should have been pleased with the news. But I wasn't. I felt terribly envious of Riku.

We reached my house much too quickly, before I could even talk to Sora about Cloud. I was forced to wave goodbye to Sora even though I wanted to talk more. I walked inside my home. My house was empty since my mother was at work. I entered the kitchen. I slung my backpack over one of the kitchen chairs and slouched into another chair.

At first I sat without making a noise, without even thinking of anything. Then my head fell onto the table and I groaned. With all these situations I had to deal with, there was too much to think about. I thought my brain was going to explode. I couldn't do it all. I couldn't figure everything out. My mind should have been drowned with questions and hysteria, but the only sentence that entered it was:

What am I going to do?

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The next few days came and went like that. Before I knew it, the dreaded date had finally arrived. I didn't feel like going to school that Friday morning.

"Mom?" I called. It was seven o' clock and I was sitting at my kitchen table, watching time go by. I had already gotten dressed, eaten and brushed my teeth. Now I could only gaze at the ticking clock on our kitchen wall, wishing I could seize control of time.

"Yeah?" She replied, calling from the upstairs bathroom. She had just been taking a shower.

"Can I stay home?" I pleaded.

"No." She called back, and I heard the blow dryer being turned on.

"But-" I was interrupted by the phone. It rang twice before I reached over and picked it up.

"Hello, may I please speak to Tifa?" I heard a female voice say. Tifa was my mother's name.

"Yeah, hold on." I replied and called for my mother. She quickly rushed down the stairs, her dark black hair still slightly damp. She grabbed the phone and began talking.

"Hello? What? Oh no! Are you serious?!" She walked out of the kitchen while talking rapidly to her friend on the phone.

I sighed. Now that my mom was on the phone, she'd talk for hours and I wouldn't be able to convince her that I was sick. Oh well. There goes Plan A. Too bad I don't have a Plan B.

The time came for me to start walking up to the school. "I'm leaving," I called. My mother didn't hear me so I just left.

Each footstep towards the Hell I was about to enter made me wonder what was going to happen. Riku would brag more and Selphie would probably be incredibly dramatic; that's for sure. In an instant, a million questions shot through my head. How will I refrain myself from slugging Riku? How will I tell Selphie I wasn't going with her anyway? And what about everyone else? What am I going to do about Cloud? I haven't heard from him since I saw him that fateful day. And Namine. What will she do? And if she likes me then she should dump that son of a-

No. No need to use such explicit language. Riku's a friend. Friend. F-r-i-e-n-d.

And how was I supposed to get away from all my dilemmas?

Riku's a friend. Friend.

F-r-i-e-n-d.

And then an idea struck me. I smacked myself for not thinking of him earlier. He was right in front of my nose, this whole time. I could go to him to avoid going to school and he wouldn't care. Sure, I would be skipping, but I wanted more then anything to get away from all this.

Axel.

One of my closest friends, even if I haven't heard from him in a while.

Maybe, just maybe, he could serve as a sanctuary for me.

Without a second thought, I turned away from the direction of the school. I walked, then sprinted as fast as I could to Axel's house. He lived about a mile away from me, but I didn't care. As I ran, I suddenly thought of something. I was running away. Again. Then, my half-brother came in mind. Sora. He had tried to stop me from turning my back on my problems. Our conversation we had when I ran away for the first time haunted me.

"Where are you off to?"

"I..." I couldn't explain. Not to Sora. My half-brother was too naive.

"Running away?" He asked, his tone saddened.

I flinched. "W-what?"

"Are you running away?"

I shook my head, trying to forget those words that meant so much. Those truthful words that could probably end all of this sooner.

I did my best to ignore them as I ran onward.

End of Chapter 12

Whew. Bet you weren't expecting Axel to come. Fwuahahaha. Actually, I didn't think I'd put him in this story. The idea just sort of formed. Now this story's heating up again.

So anyway, I spent the whole freaking day to write this. Yep, it took that long. It is now 11:12 pm. And I am so relieved that I'm done with this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Now please review so I can continue! (I'd like more then six, if it isn't too difficult.)