A.N.: Man, it's been a while. I apologize for taking so long to update…school is…well school.
For this chapter, I've had the beginning idea in my head for a while. And I've decided…
This fic will now expand to six chapters. Yes, you read me. Six.
As always…man! 37 Reviews now!! Thank you everyone! I'm glad you find this hilarious, as I do as well. Now it's time to get off to the third chapter.
Bold: Emphasized words.
Italics: Slightly emphasized words, quotes, flashbacks…and anything else I can think of.
"What Happens After Next"
By
Malcolm Yuy
Chapter 3: The Wheels on the Bus
"Axel…?"
"Yeah..?" I heard two voices as my eyes were currently closed. I wonder who he was talking to…because it's way too early in the morning.
"I think he's about to wake up. Should we do it now?" the other voice asked.
"Wait a minute...let him open his eyes first," he answered. I opened my orbs to see myself in a…awkward position.
I looked up to see one person in a black cloak, and then I looked behind me to see another person in a black cloak, holding me by my shoulders and feet, their hoods concealing their identities. The only thing I knew was that one of them was my best friend. Just what in the hell is going on?!
"Hey buddy," remarked the cloaked individual who held my feet. From their voice, I could tell it was Axel.
"What's going on Axel?" I questioned. I saw him smirk from underneath his hood.
"Oh, you'll see in a second my friend…you'll see. Ready..?" he said. I guessed he was referring to the person behind me, because a second later, I saw him smile evilly again. "Good. NOW!"
"Ah!" I shouted as I felt my support leave me, and I fell into…
Water. Cold water.
I shivered as I got from where I was dropped, trying to find my surroundings. It seemed that Axel and whoever else was with him had dropped me in the university fountain. I saw them stand next to Axel, and from their height, I could practically tell who it was. I glared at the both of them, baring my teeth in anger.
"What…in…the…hell…Axel…?" I managed to ask, now shivering from the cold. I rubbed my arms for warmth as I walked out of it. Axel smirked as he removed his hood.
"What..? All I wanted to do was help you wake up this morning…because isn't it a very important day after all?" he inquired.
"Yeah, and now…I have to walk back to the dorm, get cleaned up, and then get back here…all in two hours…thanks a lot…" I trailed off, about to leave. The remaining cloaked individual frowned at me as they gently elbowed me in the side.
"Oh come on Rox, you know we love you," they said. I just rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, whatever Larxene," I plainly stated. The girl in question removed her hood, pouting as her blonde hair and green irises observed me in disappointment. She joined Axel's side as we began walking back towards the dormitory.
"You're no fun." I just shook my head, my plastered bangs dripping with water as we walked along the sidewalk.
Now, unless you all don't remember, Larxene is Axel's girlfriend. And why are they wearing black cloaks? Because they are in Omicron Rho Gamma, just like me.
For those of you who need to be enlightened, Omicron Rho Gamma is my cult…I mean fraternity…and how did Larxene become a part of my group..? Well…
Let's just say, she didn't act as feminine as she was. It's an interesting story really. It also coincides with how she and Axel got together.
Maybe I need to better explain it…from what the redhead told me, when he started school here last year, he was invited to a fraternity rush by a new friend he made in class. That friend was actually a member of Omicron Rho Gamma, or the ORG, as we call it, and he was looking for "new blood," as Xemnas eloquently put it.
And one night later in the semester, Axel joined…becoming number eight in our little group. Along with two other members, he recruited three more members.
So then the ORG was at eleven.
And then one day, Axel met Larxene. Though, from what the fiery redhead told me…he first thought that she was a he. Through a mishap that Demyx had pulled, he had recruited Larxene in as a member, because…well…
Because he thought that she was a he too. Axel told me that it pretty hilarious once Xemnas found out the mishap. Even more was when Axel discovered that Larxene was a girl, after he said that he began having an "odd" feeling around her, before discovering that he was a she. I remember him telling me all this via cell phone. I laughed my ass off.
So with Larxene being discovered as a young woman, the ORG had one of two choices: either expel her from the fraternity, or…keep her as a member. And after a majority vote, it was decreed that she would stay on as the twelfth member.
And after that, Axel and Larxene began dating. And it's been like that ever since.
"So, are you still surprised at being selected by MusicVision?" Axel asked, catching my attention. I scoffed at the notion.
"No…not now. I was," I replied. I remember him and my cousin being crowded around me as I checked my e-mail, catching a heading entitled "Your Next Results…" and reading that I had been accepted to be on the TV show. I remember being in shock for…oh, I don't know, like half an hour?!
And you know Axel and Sora wouldn't stop making jokes at my expense. So there you go.
"And now we're here. So if you excuse me for that prank you pulled this morning, I'm going to get ready," I said, crossing my arms as I gave the couple a stern look. Axel just lifted his hands in the air.
"I don't why you're giving us that look. We're not going to do anything, right Larx?" the redhead questioned, smirking as he looked to her. She returned his gesture as she looked at him, before directing her face at mine as she closed her eyes, copying Axel's previous action.
"Right. I don't see why we wouldn't do anything bad…" she then opened her eyes as she cupped her hands together. "After all, we don't want Roxy-poo to be late for his date, don't we?" Larxene batted her eyelashes when she mentioned that oh-so-feminine nickname that I despised. And she knew it too. I bared my teeth as I glared at them.
"Eh, whatever. I'm going. I hate you guys right now," I stated, before I went towards the University Suites entrance. Axel gave me that smile he was notorious for.
"We know, we know…"
"So how was your anniversary with Kairi last night?"
"It was awesome. Thanks for the ideas." I examined myself in the mirror as I was fixing my hair. What, guys can't primp themselves to look good? Must we always have to be, "Oh, it only took five minutes to get ready, 'cause I'm like that" mindset? I like to look good, especially for a date. Who knows what this girl looks like…if it even is a girl?
"Hey Sora, when you signed me up for this thing, you did sign me up on a date with a girl, right?" I asked, glancing back from the large piece of glass to examine him for a moment. My brunet-haired cousin just lightly chuckled.
"Yes, yes I did. Why would I sign you up with a guy..? Unless, you would think that I would think that-"
"Let's not go into that, shall we? Besides, I have to be in front of the school fountain in like fifteen minutes." I looked back to the mirror to examine my attire. Let's see…
Wavy-spiky hairstyle..? Check.
White short-sleeved cotton shirt, unbuttoned, showing my green tee which says "King of Nothing", placed upon a circle-inscribed star in the center? Check.
Oblivion-Oathkeeper necklace..? Check.
White-black checkered wristband..? Check.
My silver and checkered rings..? Check.
Baggy khaki pants..? Check.
And my black skateboard sneakers, with red logo and white trim? Check. I smiled at myself as observed my appearance one last time.
I think I look good.
"Stop examining yourself Narcissus. You look all right to me," my spiky-haired cousin said. I turned to stare him down. He just returned to me the same look with his identical colored orbs.
"Thanks for the input porcupine," I remarked, taking hold of a nearby pillow and chucking it at Sora, who was sitting at his computer desk.
"Ah!" He threw his hands up in defense as the pillow smacked him in the arms, before making a soft thud on the carpet floor. I laughed as I smirked at him.
"You yell like a girl, you know?" I questioned. Sora was now the one to glare at me.
"Shut up." Axel and Larxene then walked in, out of our fraternity garb as they stood in the room doorway.
"Are you two ladies ready to go?" Both my cousin and I shared a look of offense as we looked at my best friend.
"We're not women Axel," I said. Axel scratched his chin as he continued surveying the two of us.
"Well Roxas, I happen to have an internal man-o-meter, which can detect how much manliness a guy has. And it detects both of your BS…well, maybe not Sora's so much as yours-"
"Hey!"
"-but it certainly senses yours, which, from what I can tell…hmm, how shall I word this? You are currently only thirty point nine-nine…nine percent man," Axel finished. I gave him a weird expression.
"Where in the hell did you come up with that number?" I asked. Axel just shook his shoulders.
"I don't know…let's just say, I have my sources," he answered. I just rolled my eyes.
"Whatever…let's just go. I need to be there in a few minutes," I said. Everyone else in our little group nodded their heads in agreement as I looked around the room. I then gave them a smile. "Let's go."
"Well, here we are…" I said, as I approached the school fountain, the same place where only minutes before I had received a rude awakening. I shook my head at the memory as my cousin caught my attention.
"Hey Riku!" The tall shaggy-haired guy turned, and smiled at seeing us. He then walked over to join us.
"Hey guys," he said. Sora smiled as he joined his friend's side.
"Whatcha up to?" asked the crazy-haired cousin of mine. Riku just shrugged his shoulders as he examined us.
"Just waiting for something. I have an appointment in about…five minutes," he stated, as he looked to his wristwatch, before retracting his left arm back into his left pants pocket. His aquamarine orbs then rested on Sora. "So, what are you four up to?" Axel grinned as he prepared to respond.
"Well, I'm sure you know that our little buddy Roxas is about to be on TV right? Well, we have to wait here for the Next bus to show up," the redhead replied. Riku's eyes widened as he looked to me.
"You got in?" I dimly nodded my head. "Congrats. Looks like you'll have some competition though," he smirked as he took his hands out of his pants to cross his arms. I raised an eyebrow at him in question.
"What do you mean exactly Riku?" I inquired. The silver-haired acquaintance of mine just maintained his smirk as he looked behind me.
"You'll see." The rest of us turned around as we heard the sound of a large vehicle come by. My eyes enlarged as a black van and a black-red RV hitched to a van made their way onto the cul-de-sac. The van, situated behind the bus was what I guessed to be the surveillance vehicle, where all the video equipment was. And as for the RV…
I observed it as two doors swiveled open to reveal a young woman, who seemed to be in her twenties step out. Her red hair was wrapped in a bun as her green eyes were held behind black-rimmed spectacles, wearing nice clothes. She smiled as she approached us. I just stood there, closing my mouth as she did so. "Ah, I see two of you are already here. Good. I'm Quistis Trepe, and I'm the director for Next. It's nice to finally meet you Roxas, Riku…" I turned my head to the left to look at the guy.
"You signed up too?" I asked. Riku raised his hands into a "why not" gesture.
"I don't see why I couldn't…I get to be on TV, and date a hot girl while I'm at it I figure. What's so bad about that?" I just shook my head in response. Riku…
"Oh, and here's two more…hey guys!" the woman we knew as Quistis waved as two familiar guys walked over to our position. I felt my eyes bug out for the second time as I observed them. I swear, this just keeps on getting better and better…
"Hey Roxas!" a certain blond, mullet-hairstyled fraternity brother of mine exclaimed. I sighed irritably as he and another chapter sibling joined our side.
"Hey Demyx…Marluxia," I muttered as I acknowledged the two. Man, first Riku, and now my frat brothers…I wonder who's the last guy in the group? I looked to the other tall youth within our little posse.
Marluxia is a junior in ORG. He is Number Eleven, codenamed the "Graceful Assassin." Don't ask me why we call him that…furthermore, don't ask me why we have nicknames at all. He has…pink hair, which is shaggy, as being part of a similarity to Riku. Every encounter I've had with the guy has personally given me a…not so comfortable feeling, you know?
"Hello Roxas. Axel, Larxene. Sora…" Marluxia greeted. After he greeted us, we just stood quiet there for a few more moments. I began tapping my left foot impatiently as I waited for the last person.
"I wonder when the last guy will get here," Demyx muttered amongst us. The rest of our group shrugged their shoulders as we waited.
"Who knows?" Sora questioned. A few minutes later, we saw Quistis turn around. She seemed happy as she waved the fifth member over to our position.
"Here we are!" the redhead female beckoned. The firth guy in our group walked closer towards us, and at first, I couldn't make him out. I squinted my blue orbs as he approached us, and when he finally managed to close the distance, I bared my teeth and glared my eyes at him in anger. I followed my expression by accusingly pointing a finger at him.
"You!!"
It was Hayner. Why in the hell did it have to be Hayner?!
The slick-blond returned my icy look with one of his own. "Yeah, me…So what..? Long time no see Roxas," he retorted. Quistis placed a hand on the both of us.
"Now now now boys, don't flare your tempers…yet. Just wait 'till we get rolling, okay?" I looked away from the boy as my eyes focused upon the brickwork of the walk.
"Fine." Apparently, we both said the same word in unison, as we glimpsed the other for a moment, before looking away again. I felt the woman's hand leave my shoulder before she began to speak again.
She smiled as we both looked back up to her. "Good. Now that all five of you are here, let's go over the groundrules." She pulled out five little black devices from her light jacket pocket. "These are your mics. Pin these under your shirts please." She handed each of us one, and we followed her instructions. "Good. Now that we have that covered, let me tell you more about our program. The young woman you might meet is seated in the Next van," she said, pointing her thumb towards the van hitched to the RV.
She paused for a moment before adding, "-and these dates you five may participate, time totaled, will be two hours maximum. That means that at least each of you have twenty-four minutes minimally to spend time with the girl, more depending on how fast the current dater is booted. Remember boys, that the munny you can potentially earn is determined by how many minutes you can last. If any of you five can last for the entire duration of the date, then when the date ends, you have two choices: take the munny, or you can go on a second date," she finished. Demyx chuckled at the older woman's statement.
"We're like man whores," he cackled. We all rolled our eyes before we all gave him a serious look.
"Shut up Demyx," Marluxia said. That stopped the mullet-blond in his tracks as he quieted down. I smiled to myself.
"Are we done here?" Quistis asked. We all nodded unanimously. "Great. Now, go into the RV, and we'll depart shortly towards our date destination. But before we do that, I would like you to meet the camera crew. Guys?" I noticed a microphone pinned to her blouse as four men emerged from the other van, the one not attached to the RV. All four had video cameras in their arms, as they walked to us. "Boys, this is the crew. Crew, boys." Each of us nodded at one another in affirmation. The camera crew seemed to be a mix of guys, ranging from slightly stocky to buff. Quistis smiled once we were done "greeting" one another. "Now that you've met each other, it's time to get into the RV. There's also one last rule I need to tell you before you step inside…"
We all looked to her with vacant expressions. She grinned as she examined us. "Remember to keep your dialogues clean. Although this is a reality show, and much of what you say will be taped, if you say too many profanities, I'm going to have to excuse you from the remainder of the day. Does everyone understand?" she asked. We all nodded our heads in unison, and her look calmed. "Good. Well, have fun boys! I'll be seeing you five later," she said. She then walked away, back towards the RV, leaving us with the crewmen.
"You guys need to board now. Two of us will follow you in, while one will be monitoring surveillance, and the other taping in the Next van. It's time to book it," one of the crewmen said, wearing a backwards red cap, a scar going from left to right on the bridge of his nose from my point-of-view. We nodded as we followed the man's instructions, and boarded the bus. I turned to my friends.
"Bye guys," I stated, my eyes looking to each of them. The three of them gave me reassuring smiles.
"Have fun Roxy-poo!" Larxene exclaimed. I narrowed my blue orbs at her.
"Larxene…" I looked off to my cousin, who just nodded.
"Have fun with Riku. I'll catch you later," he said. I smirked.
"All right, I'll try." I then turned to look at Axel, who just gave me a perplexed expression.
"What else is there I can say? You're stuck with people you know so…do you thing." I nodded. As I almost turned away, the spiky redhead caught my attention again. "Oh, and Roxas…although you're only about thirty percent man, you're still more man than they are. Usurp their cohonies!" I just gave him a weird look in response.
"Whatever. Later Axel." I then left my friends behind, joining the rest of the guys. A few minutes later, we found ourselves seated inside a comfortable, cool interior. The doors closed, and then the RV began moving.
"So guys, where do you think we'll go for the date?" Demyx asked first. I just glared at him for a millisecond before I looked out the tinted windows.
How the hell would I know the answer to that question..?
"Who knows…this show is known for being 'out of the ordinary' after all," Riku answered for us. I could only nod at my silver-headed friend's response.
"Well, whoever this girl is, I just hope she isn't so…dainty," stated Hayner. I just gave him a sharp glare as I looked at him.
"Dainty? You haven't even met the girl Hayner, so what would you know?" I ask. The guy just sharpened his eyes at me, with me frowning in reply.
I really wish I wasn't in the same room as this guy right now.
"Girls tend to be feminine Rocks-ass, or have you forgotten?" Hayner remarked. I bared my teeth at him, ready to-
"You guys really need to relax. I'm sure the last thing that both of you want is to is get kicked off the bus, right..?" a voice asked. Hayner and I both stopped our bodily bickering to turn to the source of the voice. It was the brunet crewman. He had his eyes closed as his hands were slumped over his camera. We both hesitated from speaking for a moment, before Hayner apparently decided to talk for the both of us. Jackass.
"Yeah, you're right," he said. The red-capped crewman then opened his blue orbs as he looked upon us with a smirk.
"Thought so." I scoffed at the guy's comment before crossing my arms and looking away.
"Hey Roxas," a deep voice emanated, their owner seated across from me. I looked up to meet Marluxia's eyes.
I set my mouth into a thin line as I regarded the shaggy-haired guy. "What is it Marluxia?" The guy who looked like the typical frat brother in my mind tilted his head towards Hayner as he continued watching me.
"How do you two know each other previously?" Marluxia asked, smirking. I sighed irritably. I didn't really feel like answering him, but I didn't feel like totally ignoring him either, so…
"Let's just say, we were friends a long, LONG time ago," I remarked. I then looked over to stare Hayner in the eye before I said my next statement: "But not anymore." I then heard the bus lurch to a stop as we sat there, Hayner and I continuing to glare at one another. I will probably keep on saying this time-and-time again, but…
I really wish I wasn't on the same bus as this guy.
The RV doors then swiveled open as our hostess for the day once again made her appearance. She smiled as she surveyed us and the cameramen. "Well guys, we're finally at the date site. In a few minutes, we'll begin taping the show. We all remember the rules right?" I assumed she looked to all of us as we seemed to all nod our heads in affirmation. Her smile widened. "Great. Now it's time for the Line. Here, I have pieces of paper," Quistis said, pulling out five little pieces of parchment, "-with numbers ranging from one to five on each. Whoever has one goes first, and whoever gets five…"
"Goes last," Hayner finished for her. Quistis nodded.
"Glad you catch my drift. So, if I can have your attention guys, please come up and pull a number from my hand." We all got up from our seats as we approached her in a line, starting with Demyx, and ending with me. Each of us then grabbed a tiny sheet of paper from the woman's hands, and glanced at our results. Quistis observed our reactions. "So, who's first?" she questioned.
"That'll be me," Riku cockily said. He showed his piece of paper to all of us, which had "1" in black ink. He then handed his piece of paper back in to the red-haired woman.
"Next?"
"Me," Demyx said, showing a "2," before giving his piece back to Quistis. Marluxia stepped forward as he revealed his number to us.
"Three." He followed the previous guys' actions, and then Hayner decided to open his big mouth.
"Four." After giving his number Quistis, I sighed as I looked at my number, before revealing it to everybody.
"Five." I handed my number in, and Quistis slightly bowed her head.
"Great! Now please sit on the right side of the RV, and the cameramen will signal when it's time for the first guy to come out, that being you Riku," Quistis said, her emerald orbs looking him as he smirked comfortably. "You five should know the drill if you've watched the show. At the end, whoever gets Nexted will get their munny at the end of the taping. Have fun guys!" Quistis gave us one last wave, and we all waved back before she departed from the Next bus. The other cameraman on the bus, a guy with a sideways black cap with blond hair, a scar on the bridge of his nose like his companion, and light blue irises gave us a sharp look.
"Well, you five heard the lady. Sit down on the right side of the bus. And you should sit in the number you're going in, so Emoblond," he said, pointing to me, "-you're going in the back, followed by Slickblond-"
"Hey!"
"-followed by Shaggypink, Mulletblond and Shaggyplatinum. You all got it..?" the cameraman smartly remarked. We all nodded, though I got the feeling that we all hated the nicknames he gave us. I frowned as made my way to the back of the bus, followed by Hayner, Marluxia, Demyx, and lastly, Riku, who was near the front of the bus. The other cameraman shook his head as he looked to his companion.
"You could take the time to learn their names you know," he instructed. The blond cameraman just shook his shoulders, disregarding the brunet's orders.
"And why would I do that when assigning them names to the color and style of their hair is so much easier..? I rather than do that then learn the guys' names. Besides, it'll be funny to see who actually lasts." I nodded as I took in what he said. As insensitive as the guy may be, he did have a point. While the other guys stayed silent, I let out a low chuckle. The blond cameraman then looked to me. "See, even Emoblond agrees with me, right..?" I just shook my head.
"Whatever floats your boat," was all I could say. He laughed to himself. The brunet cameraman just narrowed his blue eyes at the guy.
"Glad we got that settled," he deadpanned. His mic then sounded.
"You're going on in five."
"Got it," he said, looking towards it. He then looked back up towards us. "Okay guys, we're beginning filming now. In five minutes we'll begin taping you…and we'll be here on the bus the entire time. Outside, we have another cameraman to follow you around and join another who will be filming both you and your date when any of you are together. Are you ready?" he asked. I inclined my head, and looked around to see the others follow suit. The brunet flashed a smile. "Good. So just sit tight in four, and then we'll let the cameras roll."
Those four minutes were the slowest four minutes in my life, I swear. I could feel my heart beating nervously in my chest as I looked around, not really focusing on anything.
Calm down Roxas, calm down. This is nothing. You should just be yourself. Just. Be. Yourself. That's all.
Man, why did my stupid cousin sign me up for this show?!
So Roxas got in, and now it's about time for the show to start…and who would've guessed that Hayner would be in the mix? Make sure to tune in next time, when we get to see the daters meet the "mystery girl…" Will Roxas and Hayner stop bickering? And will Roxas get to even meet the "mystery girl" since he's the last one to go? All this and more will be answered in the next entry of What Happens After Next?!
At least I answered the questions that I had you all pondering from the last chapter…I was going to make this one LONG chapter, but the more I thought about it, I thought it would be better to split it into two…make each entry equal in weight with the others…though this chapter is the LONGEST I've written, so I DID keep that promise. Hope ya'll enjoyed it.
Maybe I should've told you all this sooner (those of you who don't know of and don't read my Sokai), that every week I update my profile. As such, I have a section entitled Story Progress, where I basically tell you readers each Thursday how this fic and my others that I'm currently working on are progressing…so there's something you all may want to check out next time I update my profile…
Also, for those of you who may be Sokai readers, and may be teensy-weensy interested in what I'm talking about…it's called Portrait of a Young Woman. It's basically the opposite of this fic. If you're looking for more drama than humor, look there…if you're looking for major character development…look there…and if you're looking for serious, long chapter length, look there…maybe it'll hit your interest for people who are looking for new material to read. I also recommend other authors'/authoresses' Sokai and Namixas fics alike in each entry beginning with Chapter Three.
Next, I'm off to work on that Sokai…then I hope to write two new Christmas oneshots for both this and their Others…so everyone I hope you have a good laugh, and enjoy your weekend. 'Till next time, sayonara!- Malcolm Yuy