a/n: Hullo and welcome to chapter six of The Cool Guy. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Sad but true.

So. I wrote all of this in one day. Please leave me a review telling me what you think...this chapter will seem confusing, I'm sure. But it's all part of my evil plan...wait, not evil. Master. Yeah. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading!

Chapter Six

Roxas sighed before walking inside the bookstore. He didn't want to get within ten miles of Larxene, especially after Xigbar's reaction to his having met her. But he had to know several things about Axel if he was ever going to find him, and Marluxia had said that she was the best messenger he'd had.

So he walked up to the counter. He saw her at the far end, bending over a stack of books, flipping through them. Her jeans cinched tightly around a slim waist and her form fitting t shirt was riding up. Roxas lifted a brow when he looked over his shoulder and saw a group of teenage boys who were pretending to read watching her with mixed expressions of fear and awe.

He cleared his throat and she lifted a finger.

"Hang on just a moment, please." She set down the book and looked at him.

"Not you," She groaned.

"Hi, um, I guess that means you remember me. Heh….Larxene, I was wondering if I could---"

"There is no way in hell I am dating your skinny ass, you geek."

Roxas mentally shrank back in terror. "I---ew---no. I wouldn't date my skinny ass either, actually…."

Larxene frowned. The hell was he babbling about? And, for that matter, what was he even doing here?

"Look. The reason I came here was to ask you some questions--"

"I don't think so--"

"---about Axel."

"Hell no." She said coldly, staring down her nose at him.

"But I need your help!"

"Why do you need my help? Everyone knows about Axel, go ask someone who can stand your presence."

"But---it needs to be you. You're the best at finding him, you're the one who did it longest, you're the one who told me to follow that address!"

"It's not my fucking problem."

Roxas really never was one for not speaking his mind. The phrase she was using was one he knew well, one he used all the time. Half of the comments his mother made could be answered with "it's not my problem," and that is exactly how he answered them.

"That's bullshit. Look, lady---you have no idea what I've been through since yesterday. You told me to take the job and I took it. The only reason I got it was because of your name. Now, I was surprised at what the job actually was, but I figured I could do it---so I waded through masses of people until my landlord jumped out of the bushes to drag me to a party, where I was stared at, tripped, and then ignored by the people I needed to talk to. Then I wasn't ignored, and now, after I found him and lost him, after I spent the whole night sleeping in the street, if Jack doesn't find the clipboard I'll be fucking fired! Please, for the love of god---no! For the love of sanity, please just answer my questions!"

Larxene fixed him with a piercing glare. Roxas paled, remembering Xigbar's words.

You want, at all times, to stay away from sharks. I'd say Larxene is a good example.

"You sound pretty miserable," she said.

"What? I mean, well, yeah."

"It'd be a lot easier for you to give up….if you gave up, you wouldn't be this miserable…."

"Well, yes, but--"

"Okay. Ask me whatever you need to know. I promise I won't lie."

The psychology of this was not lost on Roxas. "You…you're going to help me because you want me to miserable."

She half smiled in answer. It was perhaps the scariest smile he'd ever seen.

"Whatever. Okay, here's my first question. Is Axel left handed?"

"What the hell kind of question is that? You expect to find him from knowing what hand he writes with?"

"Not exactly." He glanced to the left, deep in thought.

"Are you screwing with me?" Her tone was deadly.

"No, I swear I'm not," Roxas said quickly, hands gripping the counter.

"Okay," she said warily. "He's left handed. I don't see why it matters, but he's left handed."

"Thanks. Does he have a license?"

"Hah! As if anyone would ever let someone like him drive a car….he does, but it's suspended right now."

"Does he drink alcohol?"

"Sometimes."

"Can he dance?"

"Sometimes."

"Would you say he likes to take walks outside?"

"….maybe? How am I supposed to know?"

"Sorry. Did he graduate from high school?"

"With honors."

"How long have you known each other?"

Larxene tilted her head. The boy in front of her was terse, intent. And he wasn't even writing any of this down.

"Since elementary school."

"What's his favorite time of day?"

"…."

"Okay, sorry. What was his favorite subject?"

"I don't think he had one. Art, maybe?"

"Does he like art?"

"Are you stupid?"

"Answer the question, please."

"Yes, he likes art, that's what I just said," she snapped. She was getting irritated. An erratic line of questioning like this had nothing to do with anything.

"What kind of art?"

"Performance."

Roxas stared at her, eyes unblinking. "Performance art," he repeated.

"Yeah." She said shortly.

"Right. And….about how often would you say he comes to this store?"

Larxene shrugged. "I don't know. Once a month, maybe twice."

"Who's his best friend?" Roxas asked suddenly, remembering his biggest question.

"Well…" She leaned forward, slumping across the counter. Roxas heard the boys whisper excitedly and he made sure to keep his eyes on her face. He would never have looked down her shirt, but god knew what she'd do if she thought he was trying.

Probably stab him with the gel pen she'd been twirling between her fingers, from the way he caught her look down at it before looking sharply at the teenagers.

"Mostly it's Demyx. But that's a little one sided. The one I would call his best friend….isn't around right now. And they weren't really best friends anyway, they just got along pretty well." Larxene looked at Roxas. There was the standard dislike, but it was burning a little duller now.

"Hey. Kid like you hasn't got any plans for tonight, I'm sure. I don't know why but I like talking to you. Don't get me wrong---I hate your guts. I probably only like you cause you're so pathetic."

Roxas raised his eyebrows. "Pathetic? I guess….that's what I am. Look, I'd like to thank you, but I actually do have plans for tonight."

"What? There's no way in hell you have a girlfriend."

"Why does everyone just assume that?" Roxas bit out. "You're right, though, I don't. But what you've said has made me realize I have an appointment."

"What, like a dentist appointment?"

"No. A beauty salon."

"Why the hell are you going to a beauty salon?"

"Because I can't use the bike."

Larxene stared after him as he waved a quick goodbye and walked out of the bookstore. She shook her head, brandished the pen at the teenagers, and got back to work. Insanity, after all, was contagious around here.

Xigbar walked out of the shower with a smile on his face.

The steam had done wonders for his hangover, his eyepatch was not itchy, and he could have sworn that while he'd been chatting with Xal last night Demyx had looked his way.

Maybe.

Well, two out of three was fucking good, anyway, in his book.

Despite his high mood, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting about something.

Or someone.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNO----

Axel looked up from the couch. The door was vibrating; an occurrence that meant only one thing.

"What do you want, Xig?" He called lazily.

Xigbar halted his frenzied pounding on Roxas's door.

"Axel? Christ, man, you fucking went home with him? I didn't know you were gay, kid."

"Kid? Who do you think you're yelling at, man?"

Axel made his way to the door and opened it, staring at the landlord. His long hair was hanging free, dripping water onto the carpet, and he was shirtless. There was relief in his eyes.

"I don't want to talk to your punk ass, Axel. I was just checking to make sure the kid was okay. But I guess things really went his way, huh?" Xigbar laughed.

"…I'm alone in here, you know."

His laughter died. "What? Where's Roxas?"

"Who's Roxas?"

"What did you fucking do to him?!" Xigbar started forward with hell in his dark eyes.

Axel was thinner but he caught hold of the other man easily.

"Calm down, you're babbling….oh. You're drunk, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not drunk, I'm mad!"

"Mad, insane, crazy----drunk."

"You're not supposed to be here! You moved out!"

"Well, yeah. But I was in the neighborhood last night and didn't feel like walking to my new place, and it's not like anybody had moved in yet."

Xigbar stared at the red haired man as if he was an apparition.

"Are you fucking trying to tell me you really truly to all fucking heaven did not realize that there's a new tenant?"

"A new tenant? It's just the way I left it."

Both men paused as the phone rang. The answering machine came on and a woman began speaking.

"Roxas, please answer your phone, honey. How am I supposed to know if you're doing okay in that new apartment if you don't talk to me? Well, okay, I know I'm not supposed to call for a week. But how am I supposed to know if you're not passed out on the kitchen floor? Or trapped in an elevator? Or dead?! Well? No answer for that, I suppose. Hayner called the other day to inquire about your health, and all I could say was that I didn't know. I love you, dear. Please, please, please do your laundry. And eat."

A pair of light green eyes slid over to a much darker pair.

"That's the third time this morning. She keeps getting the wrong number."

"Axel?"

"Yep."

"You don't have a phone."

"You know, I was wondering where those curtains came from too."

"Are you sure about this?" The strawberry haired stylist, a girl around his age, looked down at him in concern.

"Dead."

"What?" She gasped.

"Dead sure," Roxas said hastily.

"But…"

"Like I said: do whatever you want, but make me look as edgy as you possibly can. As far from boring as there is."

a/n: right...so for those of you who don't understand what's going on...enlightenment and more will come in the form of chapter seven? Let's go with that. Roxas is the one with all the plans...