A/N: Hi people! Thanks for the lovely reviews! Okay this a/n is not just to say thank you, but to alert people who actually care about this story (to which i owe those people my sanity) to a change. I said at the beginning in the add on to my summary that there would be mentioned RoxasxHayner in the pairings. I'm changing that to mentioned RoxasxSeifer. I know it's weird, but it fits better and when i wrote the roxas and hayner thing i didn't think far enough ahead to realize the problem with that. So i formally apologize to people who like the pairing but beleive me, you wouldn't like it later anway. So yeah! Thanx for sticking with my story!

Axel's POV

"Make yourself at home." He disappeared down that hall again. So much for the melting thing.

I sat there for about five minutes, trying to figure out where the remote was (I was sitting on it actually) before some music floated into the room. It was quiet and haunting. Sad and soulful.

So Roxas really could play. And…damn well. Hell of a lot better than I was. Sure I could play with the best of them, but I couldn't do anything so…emotional.

Should I check it out? Hell no. He probably had that dog…what was its name? Hoshii…or something like that. Then again…that computer that I just noticed in the corner did look inviting. And I didn't want to use it without his permission.

I walked down the hall, blanket still wrapped tightly around me. Okay so maybe his apartment wasn't exactly like mine. Mine only had two bedrooms. His had three. I listened to each door, trying to pick out where the noise was coming from.

The last door in the hall. I knocked. No answer, but the music never stopped. What the hell? I mentally shrugged and opened the door.

And there was Roxas, hanging over the back of his bed, his guitar upside down with him. His eyes were closed but I noticed a pencil and an open notebook on the bed.

I stood there listening for a couple more minutes. Then he noticed that him and the dog (now asleep thank god) weren't the only ones in the room.

"Yes?" Now it was my turn to pause. I had been too intent on listening that I kinda hadn't noticed it had stopped.

"Uh. Yeah. Can I use your computer?" He nodded. Okay then.

"Thanks." He nodded again. His eyes nearly screamed at me to leave. And the dog was moving. Goodbye.

His computer was new, a hell of a lot better than my beat up one. Don't get me wrong, I loved my computer but this one was so…shiny…

I decided to check out the gossip. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a hard core SH fan. And like any other fan, the favorite topic was the lead singer's true name. No one knew. He just disappeared after every concert or other band event. And the fact that the only things that never changed about him were his voice, his height, and his sunglasses didn't help either.

There was a rumor recently that he was some kid named Roxas Ukahara. Hey that's my neighbor's name…After a bit of research I had found out that the kid was the second heir to the biggest company in Japan, and one of the richest family's in Asia. The only pictures I could find of him were on magazines (normally flipping the photographer off) or security photos of him in random bars and clubs (also flipping off the cameras).

He actually looked a lot like the Roxas here. But anyway, he had been interviewed plenty of times and each time it was brought up, the kid would say it wasn't him and flip off the interviewer for emphasis. And when they asked his father, the man would just laugh and say something to the extent of, "Who? My son? You're joking right?"

The kid was a stuck up brat through and through. And guess what? I only had to read about five interviews to come to that conclusion.

It would have helped if the other members of the band (only three other people actually. Hayner Kataki, Yuffie Amai, and Seifer Akuto) would tell, but their lips were sealed.

The lead singer went by Hikage. I think it meant sunshine…and shadow…

There was no more news. Except…Hikage hadn't appeared at the last concert. It had been two days ago in Tokyo. Well…that's interesting. The article said he just never showed up. Even the rest of the band was confused.

"Hikage never showed up huh?" I jumped. Literally. And landed on my ass. I looked up at the now-taller-than-me Roxas.

"Do you have to be silent all the time?" He, you guessed it, shrugged.

"I'm going to bed, there's an air mattress set up in the first room on the left." I nodded my thanks and he left again.

I turned off the computer and turned on the TV, putting it as quiet as I could.

There was nothing on. And I'm not exaggerating. The only crap on were these retarded bimbo movies…without the bimbos. Oh well, the news wasn't too boring.

"And tomorrow, the storm is expected to double in intensity for the entire day before leaving. Thursday is expected to be a warm sunny day…" I muted it. Shit. Shit. And double shit. No I don't like rain. And if the storm that was already rattling the door got bigger, Reno was not going to risk driving home. I was stuck here. Roxas is not going to be happy…then again, he never is…

Yeah. What I said about the news not being too boring? Absolute bull. I fell asleep halfway through the sports reports. There's only so much fake enthusiasm I can take.

Wanna know why I was up? Food. I may sleep, but my stomach never does. Roxas was either cooking or microwaving something. Either way, it smelled good and I was practically floating to the kitchen.

I paused in the door. Let's reflect for a moment shall we? Roxas had only ever worn (past two days anyway) turtlenecks and jeans. His attitude or something just seemed to scream "you cannot make me wear short sleeves" or "you try to take my sleeves, I'll try to take your throat". Not right now.

There he was, watching the microwave, in nothing more than a pair of jeans and just visible black boxers. It was actually a very…no, no, I will not go there. I'm not my brother. Sure, I'm gay, but not so…noticeably…My brother? Care Bear pajamas. Nuff said.

As soon as such thoughts were banished to a small corner of my head (most likely to reappear with a vengeance later) I began to notice things.

Like eight diagonal scars that ran across his shoulder blades. They were faded and hard to see but they were there. There was another long scar around his (remarkably slim) hips. I mentally slapped myself for that extra thought. This one wasn't as straight as the others. And it looked newer. That must have been painful.

And guess what? I took all of that in, in about ten seconds before I caught sight of the most interesting one yet. Around his neck, hooking just below the jaw-line (I guessed that part, because, of course, I couldn't see it.) It looked like a braided rope burn. The type of burn that practically tattoos the pattern of the rope into the skin.

I had one myself. Around my wrist. Demyx. Don't ask. But mine wasn't nearly that…ragged. How did that happen?

It was more bruise like than anything, and it stood out like a sore thumb against his pale…deathly pale skin.

It then occurred to me that maybe he wouldn't want me to see those things. Right? I mean, if you take the time to hide it under clothes, you probably don't want it seen. At least I wou…what's that? I took a closer look…well, I looked harder without actually moving anywhere.

He had just turned the underside of his arm towards me a little bit more. Were those…?

He started turning, I disappeared. Best let him think that I hadn't seen anything.

I waited another four minutes before "getting up" again. With more noise so he would know I was coming. If he doesn't try to cover up then I'm allowed to see them, if not, he'll at least still have his peace of mind.

When I walked into the kitchen again, this time with him fully aware, he was yet again wearing a turtleneck. He must have put one on the counter or something just for this moment.

"Good morning!" It wasn't too hard for me to fake enthusiasm. When I wake up, I'm immediately on a high from something. I think it's the air around here, but it takes me awhile to get back to being "normal".

"School was canceled and most of the roads are flooded out, including the parking lot." No good morning?

I kinda just stood there. "I'm heading out for a little bit. Hoshii is locked up in the first room on the right so she won't be a problem."

Wait. Didn't he just say the roads were flooded out? He looked at me then, seeming to just notice exactly where I was standing.

"I said most of the roads, and I need to pick up something in the next city. The storm is only over this area, it should clear up out that way." So saying he grabbed a set of keys I just noticed and walked out into the storm, pulling the door shut with obvious effort.

Ten minutes later…

What to do…what to do…here I am stuck in my antisocial neighbors house, with nothing on TV and the storm of the century outside…hm…

And that's when SH's Messed Up Love started playing. This was the one song I basically knew all the words to. Partially because most of the words were cuss words. And believe it or not, it was a love song. A really screwed up one, but one none the less. This was also one of the ones that actually sounded like it was made in America in the English version too…

Anyway, that was my ringtone. Yes I have a love song for a ringtone. But again, it's so screwed up it takes awhile for anyone to realize it is a love song.

Shit. Where the hell was my phone?!

Two minutes and much cursing and fumbling on Axel's part later…

I had gotten a text from Demyx. Make that twenty texts. And about thirty failed ones. How those twenty had gotten through with the wrath of God outside, was a miracle in itself.

I only had to look at about five to know the rest would be the same. Shortened and Demyx dramatics removed, it basically asked where the hell was I.

Oh. Oops…I had forgotten to tell them hadn't I?

Instead of trying to text him back, I decided to see if there was any internet connection.

What do ya know, there was. Miracle after miracle…And what a surprise, Demyx was on (private chat-room that only me, Demyx, Zexion, and Larxene knew the password too). As was Larxene and Zexion.

PryoDemon: logged on

SugarFreak: AXEL?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

DarkestSilence: Demyx, calm down

NinjaDrummer: But, where have you been Axel? Demyx is over here freaking out! And its giving me a headache!!

PyroDemon: Yo I got locked out of my house and Reno being the prick he is hasn't come home yet I'm at Roxas' house where are you guys anyway?

NinjaDrummer: Zexy's house, on his three computers

DarkestSilence: don't call me Zexy…

NinjaDrummer: deal with it

PyroDemon: anyway, I'm here at Roxas' house till Reno gets back, and with this storm, the internets likely to black out so I'm gonna go Cya!!

PyroDemon: logged off

Well that was taken care of. Now again the ever present question about what to do.

Why not explore? Roxas had told me to make myself at home…So why not?

I decided to start with the room that he had set up for me (that I had never gotten too).

It looked to be his storage room. It was filled with boxes on one side and a bed on the other. My clothes that he had taken to dry were laid out on the bed.

All this from an Ice Demon? The definition of confusing just got changed in my head. No instead of it being Zexion, it was Roxas.

The nest room over was the bathroom and then on the right at the far end was his room. Would he mind if I just looked around? Probably not. And okay I'll admit it, Roxas interested me. After two days of knowing him, he had made me curious.

I hadn't gotten a good look at it last night when I had heard him play. There was a queen sized bed in the corner with a desk beside it. At the foot of the bed was a mess of pillows. Probably Hoshii's bed.

The walls were covered in papers. Some where pictures, some were lyrics, and still others looked like poetry. Of the written stuff, only about a quarter were in English. This kid was a regular artist. Strange. He didn't hit me as the type.

One drawing in particular caught my eye. Partially because it was the largest and wasn't finished yet.

It was on a huge piece of paper, in the center of the wall farthest from the bed. It wasn't completely shaded yet, but the center piece was nearly done.

It was what looked to be an angel. The entire body was gray against the black background. Even the wings seemed to be melting into the darkness. It's hands were folded over it's chest, mummy style.

There were only two points of color in the entire thing. One was the red gaping hole where the angel's heart had apparently been torn out. Okay then. Creepy. The second was the eye. Only the left eye showed, leaving the other half of the face in shadow like the rest of the body. The eye itself was red, no pupil, no whites, just red.

Except for the fact that it was really creepy, I kinda liked it. The other pictures on the walls were all shaded, no color, except for maybe a splash here and there. And they all seemed to have a recurring theme of an angel or a person in darkness.

And the mystery deepens.

I spotted his guitar propped up in the corner, next to the desk that was also covered in papers. None of which were in English. I looked at them briefly.

Okay. I may not know what Korean looks like, but I do know what Japanese looks like (staring at Japanese writing on cds will at least give you the ability to recognize some of it) This was Japanese.

Okay I know Roxas could speak Japanese (how could you sing that song without being able to?) but that does not automatically mean he's Japanese right? I'm sure many people can write in Korean and Japanese.

And with that, I forgot the matter completely.

Nothing else about the room caught my eye (but I swear the eye of the angel followed me on my way out!)

There was only one more door. I dried the knob. It opened easily.

Wait…didn't Roxas say Hoshii was locked up in the…first…room…

Too late. I had already swung the door open.

I quickly wondered if I was standing in a beam of golden light. Hoshii was asleep in the center of the room…and it seemed like she was planning to stay that way for a long time.

I looked at the dog more closely (now that it wasn't thinking about tearing me to pieces) My earlier assessment of her being huge…still correct. She was on her back revealing her pale belly.

Roxas had said she still had some scars but…they still shook me. Her entire stomach was a crisscrossing array of scars that varied in color from silvery white to pink. I began to feel some sympathy for the dog. I wouldn't trust new people either if I had gone through what she had.

And now I'm thinking about the life of a dog…any sign that I need a life?

When I was sure for the fourteenth time that she had accepted sleeping as being the better choice over waking and tearing my throat out, I looked around the room.

One word. Fucking scary. Okay two words but…ya get the point.

The walls were covered in black cloth, and on top of that black cloth were magazine articles. They were in Japanese but there were plenty of pictures too. The pictures were of SH mostly.

Pictures that showed the band relaxing after a show or out on the town, like normal teenagers. In several of the pictures I noticed that Hikage and Seifer were always standing side by side, normally with Seifer's arm around the smaller boy's waist.

And that's when my eyes caught sight of the wall the door was located on. It was all pictures of Seifer and Hikage, with a few spread around of Seifer with…I took a closer look…Roxas? It couldn't be. The boy at Seifer's side was smiling. His eyes practically shouting with happiness.

In quiet a couple Hikage and Seifer were making out, and flipping off the camera at the same time. Same with Seifer and the other boy. I took another look at the boy. That was Roxas. No doubt about it. Same eyes, same height, same hair…

(Notice how the fact that Hikage and Seifer were a couple didn't really affect me. I was gay too so I had no issue with other gays…anyway, just thought I'd make that clear.)

How the hell did Roxas get pictures of Hikage and Seifer together?...and probably even more confusing, how the hell had Roxas hooked up with Seifer?!

I turned around, trying to think a little bit easier. It was kinda creepy how those pictures covered the entire wall.

…But not nearly as creepy as what was right across from it on the other wall.

It looked to be a shrine. The only thing on it though was a framed picture that I couldn't really see from where I stood.

I made my way towards it, taking a probably unnecessarily long path around Hoshii.

It wasn't a picture. It was a note. Or something. Again I can't read Japanese… Korean…whatever it was.

And as it turns out, it wasn't the only thing. Right below it (sharing the same frame) was a picture.

It showed a girl. She couldn't have been more than sixteen. But…damn…she was beautiful. This coming from a guy who doesn't even like girls.

Her blonde hair was swept up in a side ponytail, and she looked like she was at the beach or something. Her eyes were smiling wider than her mouth. If you could tell that through a picture, you got to wonder what her actual expression must have been like.

That's when I noticed it. Her eyes, her hair, even her skin and build…Roxas. There was no mistaking the resemblance.

A sister or something? Without being able to read the script above I might never know.

Before I left, I saw another picture. It was of Roxas, when he was fourteen it looked like. Beside him was another blonde boy. Much taller, more heavily built. I wonder who that is…

I left quickly after that. The room seemed to scream secrecy. Roxas would probably freak if he knew I had gone in there…not that he'll ever find out.

I'd only known him for two days and already he had me more confused than I had ever been. And I do not like to be confused.

Disclaimer: Yeah. I own nothing. If I did. it would probably be the worst game/story out there or i would immediately transfer ownership to my friend. So, me own nothing and never will (except this story)

A/N: I said it at the beginning but i will say it again, thank you for the reviews! i know it's not alot to many people but to me those few reviews represent my ability to overcome my fear of posting this...or something cheesy like that. Oh and please don't kill me if the next chapter is a little slow in coming. I will try to write quickly, but i did that on this chapter and i got the crap you just read. I'm trying to finish another story i'm writing with a friend, so i'm basically writing two stories. That is the only thing keeping me from this one i swear! But thank you to those willing to stick with this story! Please review and all that jazz, reviews make my world go round!