In unusual fashion, I am going to post an author's note at the beginning AND end of this chapter. This one up here is to discuss things that aren't spoilerific to this chapter. The one at the end is to discuss the occurrences in this chapter more thoroughly and just what they mean to me.

So yeah. Ha, its been mentioned several times (mostly by Brinkmess, I think) that Axel does a lot of the "taking" in this fic. Generally I like the concept of the two flip flopping positions whenever they feel like it but I do try to make my fics as realistic as possible. And as much as I'd love for Axel to give Roxas a good thrashing, Axel IS the one that's had several sexual partners in the past, being the taker (in the strictest sense of the word) in all the relationships. Roxas however was a virgin and fairly new to the concept of sex and I think he might be VERY turned off at the thought of having something stuck up his butt… I mean, remember how mortified he was when he realized he'd have to do that to Axel? In this situation, I see it more as Axel liking being the taker, and also being afraid of scaring Roxas off by the mere suggestion of him taking it up the butt. Its like, why mess with a good thing? Besides, Axel is still sort of the seme in the aspect that he sometimes dominates over Roxas, even if he's the one with the chub in his butt. *shrug* That's just the way I see it. I know that if I was a little Catholic boy venturing into a new world of sexual enlightenment, I'd call the person crazy who suggested they'd ram anything up my ass.

Just sayin.

Uhg, ok. This chapter. I hate it. Read it. Discussion of the chapter at the bottom.

Oh, and time frame. Let's see, the time they arrived at the party was probably about 6:30 PM and it is now 3:00 AM. They've been there a while. Lawl.

"Wake up Roxas." Axel said as he nudged the blond pinning him to the couch.

"Ngh?" Roxas opened his eyes and looked up to see Axel staring down at him. "Wh-what time is it? Are we still at the party?"

"Yes. We're at the party still." Axel pushed Roxas off of him and reached for his clothes on the floor. "Look, as much as I'd like to avoid talking about this, we have to. This thing here tonight, it didn't happen."

"What do you mean it didn't happen?" Roxas scowled at Axel as he too began redressing. "It quite obviously happened and it was amazing."

"Amazing, yes. But it should never have happened. We were high out of our minds and I already explained to you that its just best if I stay put." Axel ran a hand through his spikes trying his best to fix them or at least make it not look so obvious that he'd had sex.

"Don't do this to me Axel!" Roxas grabbed Axel's arm and turned the man to look at him. "Don't walk away from me again. You said…"

"I said a lot of things, but it was all the MDMA talking." Axel sighed and shook his head. "Roxas, I love you. But I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have. And that's what will happen if I keep flip flopping between you and Luxord. I'll just keep hurting you. You just need to do what's best for you. Go to college, go back to church, reconnect with your family and simplify your life Rox. Be happy."

"I was happy when I was with you!" Roxas gripped the redhead's arm tighter and held him into place as he tried to start out of the attic. "Please!"

"Roxas, let's just go back to the others. Do yourself a favor. Pretend this never happened." Axel pulled away from the boy and started quickly down the stairs. It had to be early in the morning, because most of the people that had been in the house were gone and the music was turned down low. He peeked into the room Zexion had previously been in to find that he was no longer there. Before Roxas could catch up Axel went down the second flight of stairs and out the front door.

Roxas rushed after Axel, calling for him every so often, but it was clear he was being ignored. He followed after Axel but even running as he was, he was unable to catch up with the redhead's swift power walk. They drew closer and closer to the party on the empty lot and he could now spot all his friends sitting around near the cars. He sighed as his eyes fell on Luxord, no longer in the toilet and clearly irritated. He knew he had no chance to talk to Axel now, and he wasn't slowing down a bit to give Roxas a chance.

Axel forced a smile as they approached the group waiting at the cars. "Hey, what's going on guys?"

Luxord leaned against his red Karmann Ghia with his arms crossed, eyes darting from Axel to Roxas and back again. "Waiting for you two to get here so we can go home. Its three in the morning. Where have you been? Not shagging I hope."

Roxas glared at Luxord. "You know, its funny you should mention that because…"

"Because we knew you'd say that." Axel chuckled nervously and wrapped his arms around Luxord. "Actually, we just took some MDMA and time got away from us."

"I'll say." Luxord glanced over Axel curiously before smiling and pressing his lips to the redhead's. "Well no worries. Let's just head on home before your pink haired friend here gets any drunker."

"I'm not th-that drunk! Geeze." Marluxia snarled his nose at Luxord and climbed into his car. "Come on! All aboard who's coming aboard!"

Roxas sighed and climbed into the back seat of the Cadillac. He glanced at Axel through the window as the redhead climbed into the Karmann Ghia after Demyx and Saïx and closed the door. He refused to make eye contact.

Axel glanced at the turquoise Cadillac as Luxord revved his engine and passed the still unmoving car. Guilt was filling up inside Axel. He knew he shouldn't have led Roxas to believe that things could go back to the way they were. The boy needed stability, and although at one time Axel thought he could offer that, he just knew he couldn't any longer. It was unfair to keep going back to Roxas when he wasn't even certain he wanted to be with Roxas. Luxord really had changed and he was doing everything in his power to make up for his actions. How could Axel just walk away from that? Actually, quite easily. He at least had to admit that. But something about Luxord would always bring him back. Something about Luxord almost made him forget just how much Roxas actually meant to him. As he sat staring ahead at the blackness of the night, his mind was spinning with all sorts of thoughts. But his thought stream was cut short when Luxord spoke to him.

"That friend of yours is coming up behind us fast." Luxord chuckled and pushed his foot further down on the gas pedal. "You think he wants to race?"

"Oh god, no. Please don't encourage him Lux. Marluxia is an idiot behind the wheel, especially when he's been drinking." Axel turned in his seat to see Marluxia's headlights fast approaching. "Don't race him. I know its tempting but he won't relent."

"Ah come on Axey-babe. Where's your sense of adventure?" Luxord chuckled as they sped down the dirt road and onto the street that led them to the Hollywood Freeway. "This car was built for the Autobahn! That boat on wheels of his doesn't stand a chance."

"Luxord, please." Axel grit his teeth nervously and glanced back at Marluxia's car as they turned onto the Hollywood Freeway onramp and began rocketing down the road. "Just let him pass you and drive at a normal speed, please!"

"Come on! There's nobody on the road! Let's have some fun." Luxord forced his car faster and sped down the freeway. He rolled down his window and stuck his head out of the car. "Woo hoo! Feel the wind!"

"Luxord! Stop god damn it! Please!" Axel gripped the blond's arm and pulled him back into the car. "Now is not the time, alright!?"

"Oh, alright." Luxord removed his foot from the gas pedal and looked down at the speedometer. "We were only going ninety, love."

"Seventy is fast enough." Axel eased back into his seat. He was certain now that they were slowing down, Marluxia would follow suit, but he was mistaken. The green vehicle flashed by them and quickly ahead, Marluxia hanging out the window and screaming something back at him. "That idiot! He's going to get them all…" And then it happened. The car swerved and slammed right into the concrete divider on the right side of freeway. Axel froze. He heard a string of curses fly around him and he felt the car he was in come to a complete stop just short of the turquoise wreckage but he couldn't move.

"Oh my god. Oh my god!" Demyx unbuckled his seatbelt quickly and started for the door. "Oh fuck! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Without hesitation, Demyx was out of the red sports car and at the door of the Cadillac. He looked in the back seat first, Lexaeus was conscious but he seemed pinned in his spot by Larxene's seat. That was when Demyx moved to look into what was left of the front window. Larxene was there unconscious but breathing. Nearly her whole body was smashed under the dashboard of the car which had been pushed backward on impact. There was blood everywhere and it was hard to tell where the fake blood ended and the real blood began. All Demyx knew was that it did not look good. He began tugging at the door handle but it wouldn't budge. "I need help!"

Saïx rushed to Demyx's side and began pulling at Lexaeus' door. "They're stuck! Fuck, this is bad."

"I smell smoke." Luxord said quietly as he approached the two. "Bloody hell. We need to get them out of there! I'll try the other side." Luxord ran around to the other side of the car and began tugging on the back door but it too was stuck. Despite the damage to the right side of the car being the worst, the doors were still stuck. He poked his head in the open window and noticed Marluxia was not there. "Where's the pink haired boy?"

Demyx looked to Luxord in a panic. "What!?"

"He's not here!" Luxord turned and looked around but he saw no sight of Marluxia anywhere on the road. "He must have got ejected. We'll find him later! The engine is on fire, I can smell it. We need to get them out."

"Right." Demyx rushed around to the other side and climbed in through the window. "I'll work at getting Larxene unpinned."

Saïx nodded and then turned his gaze to his brother who still sat in the other car. "Axel! Get over here! We need your help!"

Axel jumped to attention at his brother's words and hurried out of the car. He ran to the Cadillac and stared at the wreckage in horror. He looked into the back seat to see Roxas and Zexion both unconscious. Seeing Roxas there laying in blood had Axel in near hysterics. He began pounding on the glass in hopes of waking him up. "Roxas! Roxas, can you hear me!? Roxas! Are you alive!?"

"Nngh…" Roxas opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing and his neck was sore. He remembered seeing the car swerve to hit the concrete divider on the freeway and then everything went black. At hearing Axel's voice he sat up and turned to look at the redhead through the rear window. "Axel!"

"Hold on! I'll get you out of there!" Axel climbed onto the trunk of the Cadillac and began kicking at the window. "Saïx! Help me!"

Saïx joined his brother on the back of the car kicking at the shatterproof glass. Finally the laminated glass cracked into a thousand tiny pieces and began to give way. He doubled up his gloved fist and punched as hard as he could, making a hole through the window. He grabbed at the edges around the hole he made and began to tug.

Axel helped Saïx pull the cracked glass off of the window frame and once it was out of the way he reached in and unbuckled Roxas. "Are you ok!?"

"Yeah, just dizzy." Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel as the man pulled him out of the wreckage.

"Are you sure?" Axel pulled Roxas away from the car and sat him down worriedly. "You're not bleeding are you? Th-that's all fake blood, right? Oh god, Roxas. You could have died."

"I'm fine." Roxas stood and started back toward the car. "We need to get everyone out."

Saïx grunted as he pulled Zexion out of the opening they had made. "We need to get Lexaeus and Larxene out now! I told Luxord to go find a phone. We need an ambulance here, Larxene isn't doing so good and the fire in the engine is starting to spread."

Roxas stumbled back over to the car and climbed back in through the window. He looked into the front seat to see Demyx frantically working to try and free Larxene from the dashboard pinning her and Lexaeus to their spots. "We gotta hurry Dem!"

"I'm trying! But god…" Demyx gasped for air as another attempt at pushing the dashboard forward failed. "She's wedged in here so tight Rox. I… I don't think she's going to make it out. She's lost so much damn blood and she's…" Demyx fought back the tears swelling in his eyes as he pushed on the debris once more. "She's barely breathing anymore. And she's so god damned cold and pale!"

"She'll be fine! She has to." Roxas growled and began tugging at Lexaeus' legs. "Can you move them at all Lex?"

Lexaeus shifted his legs. "Yes, and I could probably get them out but I don't want to hurt Larxene."

Demyx sighed and looked from the blond woman back to his massive friend. "Lex, I don't think that's going to be possible. She's hurt pretty badly. I don't think it can get much worse. G-go ahead and get out."

Roxas looked to Demyx sadly as he helped put force against the front seat so that Lexaeus could get his legs free. Once the large man was free, Roxas helped him out the back window and then began pulling at the seat to try and free Larxene. "Come on Demyx. If we can pull the seat back we might be able to get her out."

"Alright." Demyx climbed into the back seat and began tugging alongside Roxas but the seat was nearly impossible to move without pressing the adjustment switch. The smoke from the engine fire was beginning to seep through the former air vents and into the car. "We've gotta hurry! We can't let her die Rox!"

"I know but…" Roxas grunted as he pulled as hard as he could on the seat. "Its not budging!"

"Roxas! Demyx!" Axel climbed onto the trunk of the car and reached in to scoop the two out by their shirts. "The car is on fire now! The whole front end is on fire! You can't save her! You have to get out or you'll die too!"

"We have to try Axel!" Demyx pulled away from the redhead and continued to tug at Larxene's seat. "Maybe if you would help us!"

Axel sighed and gripped Demyx's shoulder. "No Dem. I'm sorry. Its too late for her. Even if we got her out there's no way she'd…"

"Don't say that!" Demyx looked to Axel with tears burning his eyes. The fire was now spreading into the interior of the car but he couldn't give up. "She's still breathing! She's still alive! I can't just leave her!"

"Out you go!" Luxord grabbed onto the back of Demyx's clothes and looked to Axel. "I'll get him. You get your boy."

Axel looked to Luxord in astonishment before nodding quickly and pulling Roxas out of the car. He pulled the boy to safety and dragged him away from the burning wreckage. They stood staring at the flames as they began engulfing the entire vehicle in a roaring fire. He held Roxas in his arms tightly as the boy trembled. "You did your best Roxas. You tried."

"B-but it wasn't good enough." Roxas stood watching the flames, now bright enough that they illuminated a good portion of the freeway. It finally made clear Marluxia's position about thirty yards away. "Oh my god… Marluxia!"

Saïx took a deep breath and started over. "I'll check him."

"God, why did this happen!?" Roxas grabbed his head in his hands as he watched the flames began to lick at Larxene's face. The girl's eyes were closed and she almost looked as though she was just sleeping. No matter how much Roxas wanted to tear his eyes away from the scene, he just couldn't. He faintly heard Saïx yell that Marluxia had no pulse and the helplessness he felt intensified. He watched the car burn in silence, Demyx's sobs reaching his ears. "A-axel?"

Axel tightened his hold on Roxas as they stared straight ahead. "Yeah?"

Roxas let out a shuddering breath. "Will you say a prayer with me?"

Axel released Roxas slowly and stepped to his side. "But the only prayer I know how to say the Hail Mary prayer."

"That's fine." Roxas made the sign of cross and knelt to the ground with his hands out before him. He waited for Axel to follow suit before he began. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, our Lord, Jesus Christ."

Axel took a deep breath and joined in with Roxas. "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at all times, and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Ok, so I TOLD YOU to expect at least one death. Here you have two. But come on, it isn't as though I didn't foreshadow this at all. In fact I think I kinda made it blatantly obvious.

I did this for two reasons.

Firstly, character development. Marly and Lar dying has nothing to do with actual plot development but it has a great deal to do with character development. We see our cast now, shrinking, and we see how this shrinking is affecting them.

Secondly. Oh geeze. Ok so this is where a longwinded rant begins, friends. My second reason hits a little bit more closer to home for me.

This chapter was very difficult for me to write. I kept feeling ill and had to stop and go do something else and keep coming back to it. As I've said before, I lost three close friends in a car crash in high school, all because they decided to get into a car with a drunk driver so this is very important to me.

I realize (as vain and shallow as it sounds) I have a fairly decent sized fan base. For every one of you that actually reviews this story, I have at least four more subscribing to updates for the story. I realize my writing reaches a large range of people. And I think that is great. So WHY NOT try to spread awareness about an issue that is very close to my heart?

What happens to Larxene is not much different that what happened to one of my friends in that car crash. The only difference is that my friend was not lucky enough to be unconscious. She was awake to realize she was trapped in a burning vehicle, two of her friends dead to her right, one decapitated, and the driver running away from the scene of the wreck more worried about getting caught than getting her out safely. My friend had to sit there screaming (according to the people who were on the phone with 911) and panicking as she sat covered in blood, waiting for someone, anyone to help her until she eventually passed out from breathing in too much smoke and suffocated to death. She was 13, just getting ready to celebrate her 14th birthday. That was eight years ago last month.

I'm all for partying and living life without restrictions; because you only have one life so why not enjoy it? So it may seem out of character for me to stress the importance of not driving drunk.

But I never have and I never will drink and drive and I hope that is one thing I can inspire in those who read this story. Don't drink and drive, and don't get in the car with anybody who has been drinking.

EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO CALL YOUR PARENTS, don't think about how mad they're going to be or (if you're under aged) how much trouble you'll be in, or even how disappointed in you they might be, because AT LEAST they won't be burying their child. And you can use that against them to guilt them into not lecturing you. Because every parent would rather have a drunk child than a dead child.

This chapter is dedicated to my friends, Shantelee Batchelor, Tara Mitchell and Amy Simmons-Spaulding. Three beautiful young girls who lost their lives way too soon all because of a foolish mistake. Please take their mistake and learn from it, and encourage others you love to do the same. Grow a chain of awareness. Please. And always have a Designated Driver, even if it has to be you sometimes.