A favor? Axel… wasn't going to ask something weird, right? I sort of felt myself nod before wishing that I hadn't.

"Can I draw a picture of you?" What. Why? I sort of gave him a look, a cocked brow and twisted lips. No one had ever asked me that before, and why would he wanted to? It wasn't like I was aesthetically pleasing or anything close to that, but I sort of wanted to say no. Why would he need a picture of me?

"Um… why?" As soon as it left my mouth, I wished that I hadn't asked. Axel just stared back me, eyebrows raised as if he hadn't heard. And as I cleared my throat to ask again, he started speaking.

"Seriously? As if you don't already know." He sounded hurt. Wait… what did that mean? I felt my brows knit, and I couldn't stop from getting defensive.

"Know what?" The tone in my voice even made me flinch.

The silence fell again, and I hated it. Every time that Axel needed to think, he would just stop talking, and I hated it. I hated how quiet it was. Mostly, I hated that he wasn't talking to me. It made me feel… guilty, as if I had done the wrong in letting the silence fall. Was it my fault? Or was it really his? I wasn't sure what to think at first, until he turned to me and started speaking again. There was a smile on his lips, but I couldn't find what was hidden behind them.

"You really are an airhead sometimes," Axel laughed, brushing his hair out of his face. I sat still then, biting my lip in thought. What a jerk! This wasn't turning out how I had wanted it to. I wasn't sure of what I had been expecting, but it wasn't the silence that made me want to die, that much was for sure.

"Well, you too." I wished that I could say what was on his mind, because that would have proven that he was wrong, but I didn't know, so I just sat there, lip caught between my teeth. What was I supposed to say?

We sat there for a while before Axel picked up the pad of paper that I had seen on his desk. He crossed his long legs and balanced the pad on his knee, flipping through a couple of pages. I didn't want to look, so I just listened to the amount of pages. 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 13.

13 pages? Hm. I looked up then, unable to keep looking away. He wasn't looking at me, and I could see a pencil poised in his hand. I wanted to get up and peer over to see what he was drawing, but I didn't try. I just sat back and waited for him to stop ignoring me. Or maybe he wasn't… Maybe I was ignoring him. I wasn't sure what to say.

Clearing my throat, I managed to get some courage.

"I'm sorry. I'm kind of… emotionally retarded sometimes, and I know that that can be hard to deal with. People like me drive others crazy." What else was I supposed to say? That I was sorry and it was all my fault? No, I had the right to say no to him… But I can't say that it didn't make me feel guilty.

"No, that's okay. The question was a little… out of place." Axel was still staring at his paper, and I couldn't help but lick my lips. What was his problem? He hadn't even looked up!

"Are you serious?"

"What?" Oh no. I hadn't just snapped, had I? I felt myself look away, now that those green eyes were peering back. I swallowed hard and wiped my forehead, feeling like I was sweating waterfalls. This was bad. "Roxas." No. I took a deep breath, but I still felt my throat get tight, the warning that I was going to cry. This was bad. Everything was pretty bad. I got up then, feeling my lip quivering.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Roxas, hold on. Relax." Axel…

"Please." I felt myself losing the handle, and I couldn't even breathe anymore. I was holding my breath in the hopes that I wouldn't just lose it and break. I couldn't do this anymore; I wasn't handling this well. There was no answer, and before I could tell him no, Axel's hands were wrapping loosely about my neck, his lips finding mine despite his closed eyes. I didn't fight him, but I certainly didn't return the kiss… did I? I felt his tongue brush my lip, and I sort of let my lips part before shoving him away. He needed to stop doing this!

Why did he always take advantage of me?! Gasping, I covered my mouth again and looked up, trying to stop the tears that I felt growing in my ocean eyes.

Axel's hands were brushing against my cheeks. Was I already crying? I put my hands up to stop him, and I heard him take a little step back. I couldn't be crying.

How weak could I get?

"Roxas, please talk to me. What's wrong?" How could I possibly talk to him? How could I possibly answer that question…?

"I'm sorry… I always… I always mess things up and I don't like-" I stopped. I couldn't talk about myself. Selfish! No, this was awful and sad and- and… I needed to get away from him. Stepping back, I sort of shook my head. This was spiraling. And before either of us could say anything else, Miranda was calling for dinner, and I could hear Axel swallow. How much worse could this get?

The two of us awkwardly walked out to the sound of little mutters. We each washed our hands without another word, and before long, we were sitting next to each other at the dinner table. No father. Just two girls sitting at the other side of the table. I crossed my ankles beneath the table, and that was just another one of my nervous ticks. No one said anything for a while, until that little girl with a big smile started speaking to me.

"Brother talks a lot about you. He says that you're very… ahm… interesting," she spoke, voice soft. I smiled a little. I didn't like kids very much, but I could handle one little girl.

"He's said that to me before," I chuckled, trying not to think about what had just happened. And after about fifteen minutes, I looked up at the sound of a door, and a staggering man came in through it. Miranda kind of gasped and told the little girl to go up to her room, and Axel was just sitting there. The air was heavy with alcohol…

I felt myself choke. No. I wasn't going to do this. The man simply gazed across the table, until his eyes stopped on my own, and I thought that I was going to throw up. Not again. When he walked away, I took a deep breath, gasping, because I had been holding my breath. This was so awful. This was…

I got up then, pushing my chair back. I heard a little breath but I didn't stop, until I realized that I was trying to walk out. I turned and thanked Axel's mom for dinner before slipping through the door. I heard that smooth and beautiful voice call after me, but I didn't dare stop until I was about a block away, stopping to hurl into the street. I couldn't do this again. There was no way.

My hands were trembling, and my head suddenly felt like it was going to split in half. I took deep breaths, moving to stand straight and walk backwards to fall into some grass, breath gone. I dug my phone from my pocket and called my uncle, needing a ride because it was too cold. I didn't say anything about what had happened, just explained where I was briefly before hanging up and waiting. I should have gone back. I should have helped Axel, but I didn't have the guts to risk myself, not yet. I was still a broken record. How dare a father come into his home smelling so awfully of alcohol. This was the worst.