I saw Axel flinch in his chair, eyes darting up to my own. Swallowing hard, I turned away, digging my hands into the sink so that I could finish doing the dishes. This was the worst! Why did this redhead even care about me? He shouldn't have…

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to be honest with you is all," Axel sighed. I could hear the chair squeak on the floor, making me tense. Just what did he want anyway?

"I don't care how honest and 'real' you are, I don't care," I snapped, trying to shake him without hurting myself. I always had guilt buried deep, always, even from the first move. This part was always the worst. People always tried to get close to me, and all I knew how to do was to shut them out and force them away. It was the worst. There was silence for a long while before Axel came in close and touched my shoulder. I thought for sure that he was going to be mad. But he simply leaned against me and started speaking.

"And that's okay. I just thought that you would really like some friends, and I roll with a pretty cool crew." I heard him swallow and I couldn't stop myself from looking up at him, watching as he pressed his long fingers to cup my cheek.

There was no stopping him now. His lips were soon touching my own, that same softness and gentleness coming through. Even though I was surprised, I let my eyes slide shut, hands twitching into fists. It felt like two seconds later when his arms were wrapped about my waist, his fingers stretching across the small of my back. I could feel the way that his fingers were trying to grip my shirt. Breaking away to take a breath, I was shuffled back, back against the wall. And because I was ready to cry, I had to reach my hand up to stop him. This wasn't right. This couldn't be right. We had just met. Using my other hand, I covered my mouth and shut my eyes, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to fall.

I could feel myself trembling, and suddenly… Axel's warm body wasn't as close as I wished it would stay. Wait- WHAT? No! And when I finally gained the courage to look up again, Axel was standing a couple of feet away, eyes downcast and fingers threading through his hair.

"I'm sorry… That was uncalled for," he managed, and I could hear the tightness in his throat. And out of thin air, I felt angry. I felt mad. Was he trying to take advantage of me? What the hell, man?

"Get out." I covered my face with one hand, the other dropping to my side.

"Wait, Roxas, hold on, let's talk about it. I'm sorry." I felt a hand wrap about my wrist, trying to pull my hand from my face.

"I said get OUT! I don't want to talk about it." The tears were pooling and I could feel myself get rigid.

"Roxas…"

"Get out!" I was so sick of listening to him talk. I couldn't stand it. His voice was so smooth and sweet, but I couldn't do this anymore. I could hear him shift before the footsteps walked away and out the door, the click the only thing to bring me back. I sank to the floor, covering my head with my hands. Why had he done that? There was no way that he was actually interested in me… right? This must have been some sick joke. To think… I had begun to trust him. Why? Why was I always the problem? This was going to end.

Over the next few days, I didn't dare go to school, just swung into the front office to collect my work, and I even managed to get a few extra hours for work. I was starting to think that I could be rid of that redhead until I moved again, but then… one night while bagging, he walked into my aisle with a little girl beside him and an older man… his father? They looked a lot alike. I didn't dare stare for too long, not wanting to talk to him. I could hear him sort of mumble, and I knew that he was going to try and talk to me. But surprisingly, he didn't even walk up. He simply took his bagged goods from my hands and walked out.

I had gotten way too worked up, because moments after he left, I had to excuse myself and run to the restroom. This was the worst! I heaved and emptied my stomach into the toilet, sweat beading at my hairline. I couldn't do this anymore. How was I supposed to do this? When I got back to my station, the cashier was looking at me and shaking her head. She sent me home that evening, but that didn't help. Maybe it hadn't been Axel, because I was still throwing up when I got home. I couldn't afford to see a doctor, and I couldn't afford to miss any hours. To be honest, I wished I hadn't done it, but I called Axel, sitting in the bathroom. I leaned against the shut door and hoped for the best.

"Hello?" I thought about hanging up, but I swallowed my pride and relaxed.

"Hey, it's Roxas." I bet I sounded awful.

"Hey… Are you okay? You sound like… Are you sick? You looked pale earlier," Axel actually sounded… concerned? Maybe.

"That's actually what I'm calling about… Um… Do you have any medicine? Like… hold on." I pushed the phone away from me as I leaned over the toilet bowl. I didn't want him to hear, but I'm sure that he had, mostly because when I got back on, he sounded really grossed out, at least I thought so.

Silence fell on the conversation for a moment, mostly because I was gasping into the microphone. I felt like I couldn't breathe. After a minute though, I was wrapped up in myself, arms wrapped carefully about my legs, trying to ease the pain away from my stomach.

"I do. Um… Let me talk to my mom really quick and I'll be right over, okay? Try not to die." And the line went dead. No! I didn't want him to come over, not when I looked like- like this. I looked awful, sweat on my pale skin. This was bad.

He didn't answer my next three phone calls, and they went straight to voicemail. I really didn't want him to come over. The knock on the door got me to my feet, but I had to hold my stomach as I hobbled over and unlocked the door, breath suddenly gone as if I had run a mile before I opened the door. Those emerald eyes were looked down at me, looking me over as if trying to assess what was wrong, as if he could tell.

"You look awful."

"Yeah, thanks, I didn't notice," I managed, chuckling for a moment before bowing my head low. My stomach hurt like a mother-

"Sorry. Let's get you medicated, okay? Do you have a fever?" I felt myself shrug. "My mom's a nurse, so she sent me with a bunch of stuff; we can check. She almost made me bring her with me." I laughed out of instinct and collapsed into one of the dining room chairs, trying not to cry. This was the worst.