Disclaimer: Wasn't mine, isn't mine, and will never be mine. *Sighs* Pity…
Warning: Umm, beware of the ghost with a pale green hair! Just warning you… he's a bit mad! :D
A/N: Hi again! :D Sorry for the delay – I've been really busy lately. I unfortunately have to attend that bothersome thing you some may call school. And teachers have noticed how much fun is to give us lots of assignments. *Pouts*
Chapter songs: Skyscraper by Demi Lovato and Aha! by Imogen Heap (Glyn's theme – kind of)
P.S. I was wondering…what kind of side pairings you guys want? Suggestions will be received! :)
And thanks to everyone who reviewed or/and stroked my ego. XD If I could, I would hug all of you.
Chapter Four: Alone in Death
– / –
As Marly and I stepped into the kitchen, Demyx turned to face us.
"Maaarlyyy! Axel's shouting at me! Make him stop!" He whined, jumping into Marly's arms. "I found a cute little kitty outside the front door and he was so wet and hungry-looking that I felt sorry for him so I took him inside and put him in our room! But when Axel saw him he started screaming at me and now he says that I have to kick the kitty out of the house." Seriously, did he breathe at all when he said all that?
"Dem you idiot, I'm shouting to you only 'cause y'know that I'm allergic to cats, and yet you brought one to our room! Do you wanna kill me or something?"
The redhead, Axel, who I hadn't really seen properly from the door, was really tall. Even while sitting, he was almost longer than I was standing. The fact made me feel unsure.
"Nah Axel, one kitty here or there doesn't kill you!" Demyx chirped, turning back to face Axel. "Glitter is a really cute and well-behaved cat."
"Oh so now that thing has a name? And what kind of name 'Glitter' is for a male cat, anyway? Is it gay or something?"
Demyx threw up his hands, scowling. "I can't believe ya Ax! First of all, it's not it, it's he. Secondly I've always wanted a kitty and because I like shiny things I decided that Glitter is a cute name for him."
When Demyx and Axel kept arguing I had good opportunity to look Axel better. He had a thick, shoulder-length bright red hair, his eyes were a bright emerald color and he had a teardrop shaped tattoos under each eye. He was wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt to cover up his upper body. In his feet he had black cowboy boots. Flat-heeled, pointy tipped, black cowboy boots. He didn't look crazy. But then again, I didn't really look crazy either, and I saw dead people.
"Hello. You are the new guy, right?"
The question surprised me. When I had stared Axel, Zexion had lost his interest of the fight, and was in turn staring at me on his one visible eye. I just stared back at him, mouth open. Luckily, Marly answered for me.
"Yes, this is my new roommate, Roxas. Isn't he cute? He reminds me of my German shepherd puppy, Mozart."
I take my words back. It wasn't lucky that he answered for me. Not at all. He thought that I looked like his dog? No wonder he was so nice to me.
But Zexion just smiled at me calmly. Maybe he was used to Marly's comments. "Well, Roxas, welcome to your new "home". I'm sorry for these three; they're all idiots. Some more than others." Zexion nodded his head toward Axel and Demyx, who were now looking at me, interested.
"I didn't see ya there." Demyx was the first to respond. "I'm Demyx. Nice to meet ya, Roxas!" And then he shocked me with a big hello hug, reminding me of a cute little puppy with his big, emotional eyes and his smiling, little round, face.
"Likewise," I muttered, little confused about his mood swings. So that was what Marly had meant. His mood moved like a rollercoaster.
Demyx beamed at me. "Awww you're cutie! How old are you, little one?"
I won't hurt you. Come out, come out Little One…
Panic swept over me. I couldn't breathe well. My hands started to sweat. Little One… Where had I heard it before?
Come out; come out, wherever you are… No sense of hiding…I'll always find you in the end…
"Roxas?"
I looked up to find Marly studying me with a concerned expression and realized that he had probably been trying to get my attention while I had been panicking inside my head. "Are you okay?"
"I – Yes. I'm alright," I answered after a moment. Liar.
Marly smiled, relieved. "Good. I was afraid Demyx broke you somehow."
"Hey!" Demyx pouted. "It was a simple question." Zexion rolled his left eye, turning his attention to the book on the table. Axel just grinned. "Y'know Dem, you can't ask lady her age."
Lady?
"I'm not a girl!" I scowled, blushing. "And for your information, I'm sixteen."
Demyx whistled and grinned mischievously. "Wow, this little kitty has claws. He's cute and spicy. Hope you're not allergic to this cat, Axel."
Axel rolled his eyes. "No Dem – He's not a cat. He's more like…a canary. A little yellow canary." Axel's emerald eyes locked to my blue ones. "Trapped inside his cage, trying to be free so he could fly in the sky again."
Mrs. Rose came through the kitchen door before I could ask Axel what he meant by that. She smiled her cold smile. "Take your pills, everyone."
I watched as she gave them all their pills, and then watched as they took them. It was creepy. No one said a word, not even Demyx, just held their hands, and swallowed their pill down dry.
Mrs. Rose didn't give me a pill; because I hadn't seen my doctor yet, she explained.
After we'd eaten (eggs, toast and cereal), we all walked together back to our rooms. Zexion was in the lead, followed by Demyx and Axel. Marly and I were the last ones.
"I'll come to your room later. I'll just finish this book first," Zexion stated to Axel and Demyx, as we reached top of the stairs. "Please try not to kill each other."
"Scouts honor!" Demyx put hand over his heart.
"You've never been a scout, Dem," Axel said.
Zexion sighed and disappeared down the hall. Demyx looked after him, dreamy look in his eyes. "He loves me. I know he does."
"Dem, are you, by any chance, drunk?" Axel asked him. "Because if that's love, I'm Mickey Mouse."
Demyx shot a scowl to him, and then turned to face me. As he turned, something flashed between us, and I stumbled back, trying to get support from the wall.
"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?" Demyx asked.
Over his shoulder, next to Axel, a man appeared. He had an amazingly golden yellow eyes and pale green hair, which was short on the left side and a little past his shoulder on the right side. His jaw was strong and sharp, and he had a solid, lean body.
"Roxas?" Demyx said.
"I – I…" I tried to peel my gaze from the mysterious man. "I tripped, sorry."
The pale-haired man just smirked, adjusted his white-framed glasses and winked at me. "Oh, really?"
Marly laid his hand on my shoulder. "You're a little white. Maybe you're getting sick."
"N-no…I'm okay, seriously. I just…I thought I heard something."
"Good excuse~" The man's voice suddenly whispered in my ear. As I winced, Axel smirked. "He's a little skittish, I see."
"Boys?" Mrs. Rose peered around the hall doorway below. "Could you stop fooling around and go to your rooms? Class is in fifteen minutes. Young Mister Strife, you won't attend in class today. When you're properly dressed, we shall discuss your schedule."
– / –
I was sitting on my bed, leaning against the wall. Marly had gone to his class, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Just moment before Mrs. Rose had given me my new schedule. Apparently we rose at 7:15, breakfast started 8:00 and we were in class by 9:00. We studied independently, but Mr. Walker tutored us. Break at 11:00 for a nutritious snack. Then 11:30 back to class. Lunch at 1:00. Back to class from 1:45 until 4:00, with a little break at 2:15. Lunch would be 5:00, and supper 7:00. Also each of us had therapy session with Dr. Hill; my first would be after lunch. We had to be bed at 9:00 and lights went out at 10:00.
So now I had nine o'clock bedtime and nutritious snacks. Lucky me.
Boarding school was starting to sound good.
And I wasn't really alone with my thoughts. No, the pale-green haired weirdo was dancing circles front of me, middle of our room. And apparently, he had a lot of fun.
"Hey Roxy, why wouldn't you stop keeping that stupid wall company and try this too? This is sooo fun! Come on~!"
"No thank you," I muttered, under my breath and coughed a little to gain his attention. "Are you, by any chance, dead?"
The question made him stop dancing. He turned his head toward me, grinning. "Oooh, not at all subtle, are you Roxy? Not that I mind, though. But seriously, do I look like living to you?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"No I did not. I can't help myself; you're just too fun to play with." He flipped his green hair out of his right shoulder. "But yes, I am indeed dead. Ghost, actually. Satisfied?"
"Not really." I raised my hands to rub at each temple. "What's your name?"
The ghost smiled creepily. "What is your name?"
I scowled. "Seriously, do you always answer question with a question?" The green haired ghost just chuckled. "I don't know, do I?"
"Oh Jesus." I needed to calm down, so I started to count ten.
Slowly.
Backwards.
In Latin.
"You already know my name. I'm the one who doesn't know yours. So, your name is?" I finally said.
The ghost started to hum, eyes sparkling. "Guess."
With a sigh, I let my eyes close, and then dug the heels of my hands into them, pressing down so that I saw red. I took deep breaths, one after another, until I felt like I could handle the situation better. I opened my eyes slowly, staring at the ghost more closely.
The ghost wore a simple white dress shirt with a pale-green bow, a long pale green coat, which he wore around his elbows and in his feet he had a high-heeled ankle boots. The ensemble looked old-fashioned, and that gave me the impression that the ghost had been dead for some time now. His hair color was the same as the color of the most walls of Oblivion. "I have a hunch that you and this house have something to do with each other. Am I right?"
The ghost grinned. "Very good. Very good, indeed. I and this house have a quite history together. After all, I am Glyn Les Oblivion, the former Master of this house." After saying his name, he made a wide gesture with his left hand and bowed to me, still grinning widely. "But you can call me Master Glyn, or sir, Roxy."
– / –
I lay in the dark, trying to fall asleep, but my mind kept racing, refusing to let me rest. Our room wall's pale green color seemed to mock me and only voice I could hear was Marly's soft snoring. I wondered if a few days of pale green paint and flowers would turn me into a happy, cheerful zombie, like Marly.
I felt a pang of shame. Marly had made me feel welcome and here I was, lying on my bed, mocking him, because I felt so bad myself. I was a horrible, terrible person.
I sniffed suddenly, eyes hurting. Oblivion wasn't so bad, really. I just…It was me. I felt like nothing was real; like everything were only a façade. An illusion of a normal home.
I swallowed painfully. What Glyn had said earlier bothered me. After he had bowed to me, he'd just vanished. I hadn't have time to react his words. So he was the formal Master of Oblivion. Obliviously he had died a long time ago, but his ghost had remained. But why didn't he leave? Why he didn't even go to the Land of Dead, a place where dead souls that didn't cross over, stayed? Why he'd stayed in Oblivion? Why I saw dead people, ghosts? Why, why, WHY?
So many questions and no answers.
Holding onto the edge of the covers, I waited for anger to sweep over me. I wanted to feel something – not that terrible emptiness I had felt in hospital when Cloud had looked me in the eyes, saying that he was going to send me away, 'cause I was broken, not repairable. But no anger came. Instead, a wave of sorrow coupled with helplessness bore down on me.
No, I won't cry! I've cried too much already, I have to get a grip!
My mind screamed at me, but my emotions wouldn't listen. I just couldn't stop tears running silently down my face. I sat up, wrapping my arms around my knees and buried my head in the crook of my left arm. My eyes were burning and I'd never felt so lonely and miserable. No one cared for me. I was all alone. No one would ever love me, want me. I was a horrible person. Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE!
This is it, I'm finally going crazy. Good thing that I've already earned a one-way ticket to Oblivion, a group home for disturbed teens. 'Cause here I am, crying myself to death.
I could feel my tears dampen the sleeve of my shirt as my whole body shook with sobs. Maybe I really would drown in my own tears.
"Cupcake? Cupc– I mean, Roxas, what's wrong?"
I looked up, only to see through the glaze of tears a pink form standing next to my bed. Then I felt a gentle hand touch the back of my neck and a cloth swiping over my face, wiping my tears away.
"Shhhh, don't cry. I know how you feel – I felt the same way when I first came here four months ago. But this place isn't so bad when you get to know it better, you'll see! Please stop crying!" Marly hushed, holding the pink handkerchief over my nose. "Blow."
I did so, looking at Marly. "Sorry, I don't know what hit me. Maybe I'm just too stressed…"
Marly gave me a big smile. "Don't worry so much, cupcake! Good thing I woke up your sobbing, otherwise you would have cried all alone."
"Thanks Marly. Thank you really," I barely whispered.
"No problem! Just go back to sleep and tomorrow you'll feel much better, I promise!" Marly took his hand away and plumped up my two pillows before pushing me back on them. "Good night, cupcake."
"G'night, Marly."
I snuggled deeper into the bed. I felt my eyes slowly close. Sometime later, I thought I heard the door open to our room and I was sure that someone was standing over my bed and tucking the covers around my shoulder, but I wasn't sure whether I was dreaming or not.
"I've got you, Little One."
I hope you don't dislike my OC Glyn too much; he's kind of important character in this story. Sorry that this chapter was more about him and Roxas' inner turmoil, and not so much AkuRoku. It's partly because I don't believe 'oh he's so hot, we have to make out right now' - kind of Roxas. XD And I needed to introduce Glyn to you, and I thought this chapter was good for it. I, myself, like Glyn 'cause he's a little crazy and well, I've always had a soft spot for crazy, sexy guys. :D
I hope there weren't too much mistakes; I seriously don't have much free time now, so I just glanced this chapter through. If you notice mistakes, well, it would be really nice for you to tell me so I can fix them later when I have time. Thank you.
So you all know what to do: review! :D And if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I'll try to answer!
P.S. I think Imogen Heap's song Aha! is scary… But I just love her singing voice~! I can see through the eyes of my soul how Glyn sneaks around the mansion (Oblivion, duh) giggling and scaring young innocent children, knowing all their secrets.