Disclaimer, warnings, ect, ect, in chapter 1.

I mentioned that I hate being the center of attention, right? So how is it that twice in one day I was the sole focus of a group of people? Sora had drug me to school and then drug me to meet his friends. That had been a very fun walk to school by the way. Kairi kept asking questions (which I refused to answer) and Riku glared at me the whole way.

I get the feeling he doesn't like me.

Now, here I was, standing next to Sora with three more people staring at me. This was shaping up to be a wonderful day, don't you think?

"Guys, this is my cousin, Roxas," Sora said, "Roxas, these are Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus."

The two guys waved toward me and the girl stood and got really close to my face.

I leaned back a bit, "What the hell are you doing?"

She smiled brightly then poked my nose (causing me to go cross-eyed for a second), "You're rather cute."

What… the fuck?

I swatted to hand away from me and backed up a few steps, not sure what to think of her.

"She does that to about half the school, you get used to it," the blonde boy, Tidus, said with a slight smile.

I didn't want to get used to it, I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be-

"Roxas!"

Apparently I wanted to be tackled to the ground from behind by some unknown attacker. I shifted a little to look at said attacker, and my eyes flew wide at what I saw.

"Olette!"

She sat up and I spun around, kneeling, "What are you doing here?" we both asked in perfect unison.

I could feel the whole group of six that was behind us staring, but at the moment I really didn't care. Olette was here. Someone from our group was here.

"Olette, you guys know each other?" Selphie asked, walking over.

I looked at her, "You know each other?"

Olette explained, "It was Selphie's family who took me in."

I made an 'o' of understanding as she continued, "What are you doing here?"

I jerked a thumb at Sora, "I have a cousin."

She blinked slowly, "Really?" she looked at Sora who looked horribly confused as to what the hell was going on.

"Yeah, the DNA they took got a hit so they brought me here," I explained.

"Oh… so that's why they did that," Olette said in a 'light-bulb-just-clicked' manner.

I nodded and Riku's eyes narrowed, "DNA? For what?"

This is why you should never ever talk about things you don't want to explain around someone you'd have to explain it to. Before either of us could say a word though, Selphie spoke up.

"At the police station."

For the fourth time today I am the center of attention. On the plus side, Olette gets half the spot light.

"Police station?" Tidus echoed.

"What'd you do to get in trouble, ya?" Wakka asked.

Ya? That so didn't make sense with that sentence.

Again, neither of us had to say a word, Selphie was more than happy to.

"They were caught stealing."

More intense looks and Olette held up her hands, "It's not like that, alright? Don't jump to conclusions."

Sora sighed from behind me, "Selphie, if you're only going to tell half the story, don't tell it at all."

Riku's eyes shifted to Sora, "So, you know the story?"

Sora scratched the back of his head, "Most of it, Cloud didn't go into detail or anything, since he's Cloud and all."

"Well? What'd you do?" Tidus asked, looking excited.

"None of your concern," I said with my infamous glare that caused all to cower and bow down before me.

I was glad to see I hadn't lost my touch since Tidus shrunk a little in his seat on the bench the group was sitting at. Olette threw her arms around my neck while I had my back to her and nearly knocked me back to the ground. I turned a little to look at her.

"'Lette?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head into my arm and I understood. Not here, not now. I sighed quietly, wishing the others weren't there so that I could talk to her. As my luck would have it, the bell rang. The others stood and started to head to class. Sora ended up dragging Selphie along, as the girl seemed to want to bring Olette with her. For the first time I appreciated that my cousin seemed to understand what was going through my head.

Once the late bell rang and all the students were gone Olette spoke, "He was in my dreams again."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there," I said quietly, and I meant it.

She crawled halfway into my lap and I put my arms around her, "You wanna tell me about it now?"

She nodded against my chest, "I think this one was more recent. It seems more familiar and I looked older…"

I nodded a little to show I was listening and for her to continue.

"I think it was at night, it was sort of dark. It was kind of fuzzy and seemed to jump around a bit. There was a car door slam… then a slam as the door to the room I was in flew open. I know I was scared. He reached out… then it fuzzed out… but I could hear myself screaming dimly in the background…"

One thing you have to understand about Olette is that her past is a complete mystery to everyone; herself included. Naminé had found the girl a few years ago, scared and alone. She had no memory of who she was or what had happened in her life. We took her in and as time went on, she started getting her memories back via dreams. From what she could remember, it seemed as though she was a run away from an abusive father. At least, that's the conclusion we were all able to come too.

Yeah, Olette had a reason for screaming in the night.

"That all?" I prodded.

She nodded against me then sat up, clearly feeling better, "Do you know where the others went?"

I shook my head, "My other cousin said the police didn't tell him where the others went. I think they think if we don't get back together we'll stay out of trouble."

"Did I just hear the words 'police' and 'trouble'?"

We turned to see whom had been eves dropping on our conversation. Walking toward us was a boy who was probably a year older than us with spiky red hair and bright green eyes. The way he walked screamed 'bad boy' and I had a feeling that we were about to get ourselves into a whole mess of trouble.

"It's not polite to eves drop," Olette said, not moving from her spot in my arms or on my lap.

The boy waved his hand slightly, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't hear anything else, promise."

Olette sent him her look, the look that could make myself, Hayner, and Pence do anything. It was the look that made all men bend and cower out of fear of finding out what came after the look should they continue to anger the woman giving it. It seemed to have the same affect on the boy in front of us as he came to a rather sudden halt.

"Calm down there girlie, I ain't gonna harm ya two or nothing. I just heard the word 'police' and you caught my attention."

"Why would that catch your attention?"

Oh, I knew that tone of voice. It was the 'you're walking on thin ice, mister' voice. I had only been on the receiving end of it once, and the consequences that followed had been disastrous. It was an unspoken law in our group to never, ever mention the ice cream incident of '05.

Although, Olette did like to reference back to it whenever one of us got out of line.

The boy shrugged, "Let's just say that I've flirted with the law a few times. You guys new? I've never seen you around here before."

"You know everyone on the island?" I challenged.

"It's not that big," the boy reasoned, and I personally agreed.

"We're new," Olette admitted, "is there a problem with that?"

One thing you have to love about Olette, she may look small, but get on her bad side and she will kick your ass.

"Nah, none at all. Name's Axel, A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

I felt my eyebrow shoot upwards; who the hell spelled their name to people?

"And you are?" he asked.

"I'm Olette, and this it Roxas."

He shot us a grin, "Well then, care to explain why you're ditching class?"

"Care to explain why you're ditching class?" I countered.

"Touché Roxy-"

"Call me that again and I will maim you," I said, my voice nearly a growl.

That was just about the only nickname I couldn't stand. The last person to call me that ended up with a broken jaw. Axel raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't comment.

"Alright," he started again, "I'm out here because I was late to school and you two are much more interesting than what school has to offer. Now, why are you out here?"

I smirked, "We just moved here yesterday, we're not enrolled yet."

He gawked at me a little, "You little sneak…" a slow smirk made its way across his face, "Better watch yourself Rox, you'll get yourself into a whole lot of trouble at this school with a smart mouth."

"It's Roxas to you, and I doubt that anyone at this school it worth my time," I said, knowing full well Olette was going to give me an earful later.

He smirked at me, "I like your style kid. Best watch over your girlfriend though, don't want her caught in the middle."

He gave a backwards wave as he walked away, our protests that we weren't dating falling on deaf ears.

"So… what you're saying is that Roxas and Olette were part of a group of street kids that went around town stealing food to stay alive?" Kairi was asking Selphie as they walked toward us.

I really hated it when people talked about me behind my back. I think I hated it more when they did it within earshot.

"Yup!" the hyper brunette said happily, "there were two other boys and another girl in their group. The other three were sent off to other homes."

"Guys," Sora said, glancing in our direction, "Stop it."

Once again I felt appreciation toward my cousin and almost wished that I had been kinder to him. Almost. Nothing against him, that's just who I was. I was an asshole and I'll be the first to admit to it. I always said that I learned it from my parents.

I'll stop that train of thought now, before I have to go find someone to beat the shit out of.

Tidus shook his head, "Really guys, you shouldn't gossip…"

"But it's the truth!" Selphie defended herself, "The police told us so!"

"You know," I said through gritted teeth, causing the group to look at us, "You shouldn't talk about people when said people can hear you talking about them…"

Olette nodded her agreement next to me. Kairi blushed a little, apparently feeling ashamed. Sora sighed a little, and Tidus looked apologetic. Selphie seemed to not care and Wakka seemed impartial to the whole thing. Riku was examining us though. I knew he was taking in this new information and reassessing us. That bothered me.

"Where should we go for lunch?" Kairi asked, cutting through the tension that had settled over us.

"Oh! Let's go to that Café a few blocks over!" Selphie said, bouncing.

What was with people on this island and bouncing?

"You guys are allowed to leave campus?" Olette asked, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"Yeah, small island. There are plenty of places near by to eat. We don't even have a cafeteria since no one would use it," Tidus answered.

Olette and I looked at one another and I was glad to know I wasn't the only one confused by this concept.

"You guys didn't have that at your old school?" Tidus asked.

Kairi, Sora, Riku, Olette, and I all turned and stared at him with this 'are you stupid?' look.

"No, I don't think they did," I said dryly, "too much liability should one of the kids not come back alive."

Shocked silence. That's right bitches; we're from the big bad city. What now?

"We should go if we're going to go, lunch will be over if we don't leave," Riku said, and I was pretty sure that was the second time I had ever heard him speak.

"Coming?" Sora asked, looking at us.

"We don't have money," Olette said in a duh tone.

"We can cover you," Kairi said.

"Thanks but no thanks," I said rather bluntly.

"If you say so," Tidus said and the group turned and headed out the school gate.

Olette turned to me, "Are we going to go get something to eat?"

I pondered for a moment, "We can go raid the fridge at my cousin's house."

She gave me a smile, "Your aunt and uncle won't mind?"

I shook my head, "They're gone. It's just Sora and his older brother."

"You're family's awfully twisted Rox," she said, standing up.

I stood as well, "I'm coming to realize that."

"Roxas, Olette."

We both turned to see Axel walking over to us, a blonde boy and a slate haired boy following him. He shot us a grin, leaning against the fence that was next to us.

"What are you two doing for lunch?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Well, Demyx, Zexion, and I were going to go downtown for a bite and thought we'd invite you along," the redhead said, waving his hand slightly in the direction of his companions.

My eyes slid to the two boys before looking back to Axel, "We don't have any money."

Whoa, deja vu. Didn't we just have this conversation?

"That's alright, we're going to Demyx's work. We don't have to pay," Axel said, looking at the blonde boy who nodded his agreement.

I looked at Olette who shrugged at me in response. Thanks Olette, that was helpful.

I gave a shrug, "Alright, not like we got anything better to do."

"Then right this way," Axel said, heading toward the parking lot.

Olette and I followed him, Demyx bouncing next to us. Again with the bouncing, was there something in the water?

"Hi, I'm Demyx! And that's Zexion."

Zexion glanced at us before paying us no mind. I think I liked Zexion.

"I'm Olette and this is Roxas."

"Axel says you guys are new here?"

Olette nodded, "Just got here yesterday."

"Where'd you guys come from?"

"We're from Midgar," Olette answered as we arrived at a red Mustang.

Can you say drool? Damn this was a nice car. And it belonged to a high schooler? Not fair.

"Midgar?"

That was the first time that Zexion had spoken and his voice surprised me. I looked at him and saw that he was looking at us with curiosity now.

"You shitting me?" Axel asked, sliding into his car.

We slid in with him, Zexion taking the passenger seat.

"No, why?" Olette asked.

"We came from Midgar," Demyx answered.

I snapped my head around to him, "Really?"

Demyx nodded, "We came here a few years ago."

Olette and I shared a look. They came here the same time we all found each other. How weird was that?

Axel pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street, "So, was it the Midgar cops you two were talking about earlier?"

"Yeah, it was," I said, and I knew I sounded a little suspicious.

Axel grinned, Zexion smirked, and Demyx giggled. Yes, you heard me, giggled.

"Am I missing something here?" Olette asked quietly.

"Street kids, right?" this was from Demyx.

I snorted, "Isn't that all Midgar is?"

"True," Zexion said.

"Man, those cops are tight wads up there. I suppose that's our fault though, sorry," Axel said, shooting us another grin as he pulled into a parking spot.

We all got out and I felt like my head was spinning. Did they send all the problem kids to Destiny Islands with hopes that being in such a place would turn us around? Did that mean that the others were here somewhere too?

Olette and I followed the three boys into a bar and grill where they were greeted by most of the staff. We took a seat in a booth and browsed menus for a few minutes before we started talking again.

"So, do all the Midgar kids that get caught end up here?" the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them and Olette was nodding eagerly from next to me.

"A lot of them, yeah. They spread us out over the islands. Dem, Zex and I ran into each other when our schools went to the same place on a field trip. After that we all moved to the same island," Axel explained as he sipped his soda.

Olette and I looked at one another. The others could be on the islands. I suddenly wanted to walk the whole damn thing and find each and every one of them.

"So, how many others were there in your group?" Demyx asked.

"Three others," Olette answered.

"So, what'd you do to get caught?" Axel asked, a mischievous look on his face.

"They found out where we were living and were waiting for us when we came back," I said, sipping my own soda.

"Ouch, no standing a chance there," Demyx said, leaning back in his chair.

"No," Olette agreed, "more came up behind us. We were trapped."

"How long did you stay out there?" Zexion asked quietly.

Olette and I looked at one another, thinking it over before I turned back to the others, "I'd say around four years. Give or take."

"Ah, not born street kids then," Demyx said, nodding his head a little.

I shrugged, "That's how far back I can remember being there. I know I went to Junior High for a little while so I couldn't have been on the streets then. Hayner had been on and off the streets most of his life. Pence…" I paused, trying to think about when we met Pence, "Met him around three years ago. He never told us his story. Naminé hit the streets about the same time I did…"

I looked at Olette who shrugged so I continued, "And we donno what happened to Olette."

Demyx frowned, looking at the girl, "You donno what happened?"

Olette shook her head, "I have no memory of anything before I met Roxas and the others."

Axel let out a low whistle, "Just a bunch of little fuck ups, huh?"

"So we've been told," I agreed.

Our conversation paused as food arrived. Once the waiter was out of hearing distance we dug into our food and picked it back up.

"What about you guys?" I asked, taking a bite of my burger.

"Orphans," Demyx supplied, "We just ran into each other one day and decided to work together."

Olette and I both nodded in understanding; we'd been there and done that.

"Who are you two living with?" Zexion asked.

"Selphie Tilmitt," Olette replied.

I suddenly realized that I had no idea what my cousins' last names were, "Uh… Sora… I have no idea what his last name is…"

"Oh, prep crowd," Axel said, clearly knowing who we were talking about.

"Not like city preps," Demyx said, "they're just popular within the school. Small island, everyone knows everyone."

"Oh goody," I said sarcastically, munching on a fry.

"You and Sora look alike," Zexion said quietly.

I paused, thinking about my brunette cousin for a moment. It was true really. Same eyes, similar build, similar faces. Really our hair was the only thing that made us stand apart. We could have been brothers. That thought caused me to pause mid chew before I shook it from my mind.

"We're cousins," I answered.

Axel looked up, "You have family?"

"Apparently," I answered as I finished off the fry.

"Ah, family you didn't know about," Demyx said and I nodded in agreement.

"Do they know about you guys?" Zexion asked.

"What do you mean?" Olette asked.

"Their friends, do they know why you're here?"

Olette sighed, "Have you met Selphie? That girl couldn't keep a secret if her life depended on it."

"I'm surprised that they tolerate you then," Zexion replied.

"Well, they're living with two members of the group, they don't have much of a choice," Axel pointed out.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked, looking from one to the other.

"Our school tends to shun out those who are… rebellious shall we say," Zexion provided.

Olette frowned, "Shun?"

"Yup, you will never see anyone else at that school talk to us. With the exception of Sora and Selphie. Sometimes Kairi. Sometimes," Demyx said, finishing off his sandwich.

Olette looked confused, "Just because you guys got in trouble with the police? I mean, it's Midgar! You get in trouble with the police for walking out your front door there."

"Well, we know that, and you know that, but them? They don't know it and they don't believe us about it," Axel said, finishing his soda.

I chewed my fry, contemplating what they just said, "What about Riku? I mean, he has that bad ass feel to him."

"Ah, Riku. He'd be in the same boat as us if it wasn't for the fact that he's Sora's best friend. Kid's got issues, but he's lived here his whole life so they were never anything like ours. His dad's an asshole so he is too. He's actually gotten better about it over the years because, really, how can you be so hateful when you're around Sora all the time?" Axel asked, looking at me.

"You sound like you know him well," Olette observed.

Axel shrugged, "He likes to think he's a bad ass, but he's not. He hung around with us a little after we first came here, up until he discovered we were the real deal. Not some wannabes who pretend they're the shit."

"You still cause hell then?" I asked off handedly.

"Not so much," Demyx admitted, "it's more like we have issues. All street kids do once you get past the surface. He couldn't deal with the issues that come with being who we are."

I nodded in understanding, "That would explain his 'I will kill you in your sleep' glare."

Axel snorted into his drink, "Yeah, he won't like you one bit. Good luck with that, he nearly lives at Sora's."

I whirled my finger in a circle, "Whoo."

Axel and Zexion chuckled while Demyx grinned. For the first time since I arrived on this godforsaken island, I was starting to believe that things weren't so bad after all.