Axel was gone when Tori awoke.
They had fallen asleep finally after an awkward silence. She thought back to the night before.
"Why?" she had asked.
"I don't know."
His face had been serious, his tone sincere. He had sounded as if he had been saying it to prove it to himself as well as her. A strange sensation came over her and she had to steady herself. She felt sick.
Tears fell from her eyes. She shook herself out of it. She had things to do today. She couldn't let her thoughts get in the way.
Zexion again found himself waiting. He didn't like this girl. He had no tolerance for such impertinence. And she always seemed to have a justification…
As if on cue the girl in question rushed in.
"Sorry," she apologized over and over.
"Enough," he didn't yell, but Tori got the message. It agitated him that she could think that saying sorry would excuse her, regardless.
Demyx strummed his sitar thoughtfully.
She had divulged to him her nightmares. She had trusted that he wouldn't laugh. That he wouldn't mock her the way Axel had. Demyx snorted. Axel. He had been so vicious, so quick to attack her vulnerabilities. She didn't deserve to be stuck with him. Demyx began to wonder why his Superior had put her there in the first place. He shrugged, dismissing the thought.
Oh well, it isn't my place to know.
Axel sat by himself. He knew Tori wouldn't be back for awhile yet so it was safe to be in their room.
He laughed. It was remarkable, he thought. How fast it had become their room. Not his.
Tori always seemed a little out of attention, but today her entire being seemed to be elsewhere. Physically she sat there, nodding her head and listening without hearing. But Zexion wondered where her conscious was. Her eyes were glazed over and her expression was rock hard, as though she were fighting to keep something in. Well, whatever the pretext, he was sure he didn't want to hear her excuses.
For Tori, the end of the session couldn't come soon enough. She hadn't heard a word Zexion had said, as he had expected. As she walked back to her current quarters, she kept her eyes down, feeling if she lifted an inch the pain might pour out of her. She was confused by the mixing sensations of hatred and self-pity. Of sorrow and regret. And worst of all, a strange sensation that deep down she knew the cause of all this. And she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted her mind to share it with her.
Axel heard footsteps. He quickly got to his feet, and wondered briefly whether or not to go. In the end, the decision was made for him.
"Axel," a soft voice said.