AN: If you squint, you just might see a tiny hint of Sora.

Warning: This chapter is all Axel and Roxas

Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville, or Superman, or Romeo & Juliet

Chapter Six: Towels are Evil

I felt like a million bucks when I woke up. A million bucks that had been put through the washer, shoved in the dryer, took a ride in a paper shredder, journeyed to the land of garbage, which was then tormented by a tornado, and was now in a billion tiny shreds spread all over mother earth and unable to piece myself together. By some miracle I was able to roll off my bed, then karma went and cracked my head on my night stand, which induced a lovely cursing storm from me. Lucky for me, my hair was a good cushion and, though it hurt like a bitch, I was not bleeding.

After I was able to drag my ass off the floor I walked into the bathroom and realized I looked as good as I felt. As I tried to run my fingers through my hair I let out a whimper, this was going to be impossible to fix without conditioner. My hair, which was usually full of several large red spikes, now resembled an afro. Actually it looked more like I had put it in blender. Giving up on my hopeless hair for the moment, I numbly took care of my bathroom routine, then grabbed a towel, shampoo, conditioner, some clean clothes, and made my way towards the community bathrooms. Most of the dorm rooms didn't have bathrooms in them, but I was one of the lucky few who had a private bathroom. It cost more money, but Demyx and I were able to afford it together. However, none of the private bathrooms had showers so I still had to use the community bathroom for hygiene purposes.

When I walked into the bathroom I immediately saw that I wasn't alone. Roxas was standing in front of the sinks, and the incredibly large mirror, attempting to comb through his messy blond hair. A slight smile lightened my face as I watched him. It was adorable the way his face scrunched up in frustration when his hair didn't do what he wanted it to. Then his eyes flicked to the side and caught mine in the mirror. I immediately looked away, finding interest in a red stain on the white wall. It was like that stain on the wall was telling me I couldn't be happy because of what I did to Demyx. It looked exactly like the mark on the dent in my wall. "Eventually I give up on it." I heard Roxas' voice fill the silence and looked up upon instinct. He placed the comb on the counter and turned to face me with a smirk on his face. Why was he giving me a smirk, I was the one who gave smirks, damn him.

"What?" I asked.

"My hair. I try to fix it but it just doesn't work no matter what I do and eventually I give up." He turned back to the mirror and ran his fingers through his blond spikes then gave an exasperated sigh when they popped right back into place. His cerulean eyes met mine in the mirror and the irritated look on his face disappeared to be replaced by a questioning one, "But it looks good right? Even though it's all out of control, it still looks okay?"

"Yeah, I think it's sexy." I said and immediately wanted to slap myself. I was trying to push him away, not make him think I'm interested in him. You don't tell someone they're sexy when you're trying to keep them away from you. Well, actually, it might work. If he thinks I'm some creepy pervert trying to get in his pants…yeah, that has potential to work out very well. I'll scare the shit out of him and never see him again, that'll be good. So why does the thought of never seeing him again make my heart feel like it's about to fall into a million pieces that could only be put back together by the very boy I pushed away. I was abruptly pulled from my thoughts at Roxas' adorable giggle.

"Sexy is good. I can deal with sexy." He let out one last laugh as he sat on the counter behind him and started kicking his legs. I guess my creepy pervert plan isn't going to work. Karma's a bitch. "So how's the Demyx thing going?"

I sighed before trekking towards the delectable blond sitting on the sink like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies set out on a table begging to be eaten. Then when you try to pick one of those tempting desserts up your fingers are burned, and still you pick it up once more and quickly shove it in your mouth to keep from burning your hand again. Unfortunately now your mouth is burning but you can't spit it out because it just too good. Oh fuck, I hit my head harder than I realized; I'm comparing Roxas to a cookie. When I arrived next to him I placed my clothes and other items on the counter and pulled myself up, sitting down next to him. Then for some oddly fucked up reason I started pouring the truth out to him.

"Well, after you left I went back to my dorm. Then Zexion came over and I proceeded to beat the living shit out of my best friend. When I was done deforming him he informed me that I'm not my father, and that Demyx isn't doing well, and I ended up passing out on my bed then woke up feeling like shit. So over all the Demyx things is flying like a led zeppelin."

"That well, huh?" Roxas commented and lightly kicked my leg with his dangling foot. "I can't believe you beat up Zexion. You were feeling terrible after Demyx, so you decided to add some more guilt to your conscience!"

"He pissed me off!" I insisted louder than I intended while glaring at the blond sitting next to me. Unfortunately, he was glaring at me as well. He must have had some superman powers though; his gaze was burning into me like Clark Kent just caught sight of Lana Lang in the locker room. When I finally looked away from him, taking interest in my naked foot, he spoke.

"How?"

"He wouldn't hurt me." I admitted in a quiet murmur. Roxas was quiet. His legs had even stopped kicking in and out, and I couldn't tell, but it sounded like he wasn't breathing either. Was he mad? Then, without the tiniest bit of warning, I felt Roxas smack the back of my head, right where it had hit my night stand, with enough force to knock me off the counter and onto the floor. "Fuck!" I cursed grabbing my throbbing head while looking up accusingly at Roxas, who was looking anything but innocent.

"Do you feel better?" He asked in a wicked voice as he glared down at me.

"No! My head hurts." I whined, rubbing the back of my head tenderly. God damn, he was small, but that was effing painful.

"Hmm…So do you think maybe there was a reason Zexion refused to hurt you?"

"Well yeah! I figured that out last night, Jesus!"

"And now I've reiterated it for you. Now whenever you want someone to hurt you, you'll remember me, and how being hurt didn't help. See?" Roxas hopped off the counter and held his hand out to me, the same hand he'd used to assault me. I stared at it as if it were about to eat me, which made me realize that Demyx probably saw the same thing when he saw hands now. I'm such a bastard. With a frustrated hug, Roxas bent down and grabbed my arms, pulling me to my feet. "I don't make a habit of hitting people, I won't' hurt you again. I was just making a point."

"Yeah, okay." I said as I leaned against a wall, and murmured "Zexion's point hurt less," all while watching Roxas like he would pounce at any moment. And then he doubled over in laughter and I tilted my head in confusion. What the hell was wrong with him?

"You know I'm like a whole foot shorter than you, right?" Roxas asked when his laughing cooled off.

"Well, it's a little hard to trust you while my head is still throbbing in pain!" I growled, my voice getting louder with each word.

"Oh come on!"

"You may come in a small package but you're scary as hell." I claimed.

"Is that it?"

"Is what it?" I asked confused at the blond's sudden change in demeanor. Rather than being teasing he was now acting very insecure. His voice was light and shaky like he was nervous or upset. Also, he wasn't looking at me anymore; he was looking everywhere but at me. That just wasn't like him. And how the hell did I see all this in Roxas, but not notice how depressed Demyx was?

"Is that why everyone likes Sora more than me? Is that why I don't have any friends?" So, confident Roxas isn't quite so confident. He's got issues just like the rest of us. But I find it extremely annoying when an answer to a question brings up more question than answers. And yet, it took everything in my power not to hold the blond in my arms and try to make his sadness disappear. He did have at least one friend after all, one who was trying to distance himself from him. Now how the hell can I push him away, he needs a friend. Damn karma can't let me just go be miserable alone.

oOo

"You may come in a small package but you're scary as hell." Axel stated.

"Is that it?" Was that the answer I'd been searching for when I transferred colleges? Was that why Sora had friends coming out of every pore while I had none? I guess I could understand that. Sora was a very nice person; he was like, like…I don't know. He's always happy and eager to meet new people and make new friends. I was always moody and fantasized about all the people in the world vanishing. So I suppose that does make me scary, and Axel had seen it. Now I've lost my only friend at the school I'd tried to escape to.

"Is what it?" Axel's voice brought me out of my head.

"Is that why everyone likes Sora more than me? Is that why I don't have any friends?" I asked. My tears for this subject had long since passed. I'd spent many nights destroying myself over it, but years of crying canyons into my face had finally taught me to accept it. And I'd come to this school searching, hoping, for an answer to the question that had tormented me for so many years.

"Um…well, Roxas, I don't know who this Sora is, or why people seem to like him more than you, but I do know that you have friends. You have me, although I don't seem to be a very good friend." Axel said as he made his way back to me. I looked away from his kind gaze but his hands caught my chin and forced me to look at him.

"You've known me less than a day." I whispered.

"True, but in the small time that we've known each other, you've already helped me twice. Remember? The first time you almost ended up on the floor, the second time I ended up on the floor, I practically molested you in a bathroom stall to keep you from cracking your head open, and in return you nearly cracked my head open just moments ago. Now if that's not friendship I don't know what is." Axel smiled one of his gorgeous smiles at me and I found myself returning it. As it turns out, I did still have one friend.

I couldn't help myself, in a very Sora like move, I wrapped my arms around Axel and buried my face in his chest. Then I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks and soak into Axel's shirt. But for once they were happy tears; I had a friend. For the first time in my life, Sora wasn't going to get in the way of me making friends.

oOo

Oh Lord! Roxas wrapped himself around me in a suffocating grip. Unsure of what to do, I placed one of my hands on his shoulder and used the other to pat the top of his head. Truth be told, I loved the feeling of Roxas' body wrapped around mine, and had this happened a day earlier, I may have made a move on him. But for his safety I knew I had to keep Roxas away from me. I couldn't bear to hurt him, and regrettably that's all I'm capable of doing. "Um…Roxas, why don't you come with me to meet Marly, Zexy, and Demy-yx." Roxas raised his head to look me in the eyes. I saw tears and immediately panicked. I'd hurt him and I didn't even know how. What the hell is wrong with me? "Shit, what did I do?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, pulling away from me and wiping his tears.

"You're crying. I did something to hurt you."

"You did do something to me Axel, but not to hurt me. Axel you made me happy."

"That's impossible. I don't make people happy. I hurt them."

"Axel, are we friends?" Roxas asked.

"Of course."

"You've made me happy, case closed. You can do more than hurt people." Had I really managed to make him happy? Even if I did, that only means that it'll hurt him even worse when I finally do hurt him, its unavoidable. "But do you think it's wise to introduce me to your friends?"

"They'll love you." I responded and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the door, completely forgetting that I still hadn't taken a shower. However, when I started to walk, intending to drag him along, I was met with resistance.

"That's not what I meant Axel. I mean with all the drama going on between you and Demyx, do your friend really want a new friend?"

Roxas had a point there, he didn't know exactly what point he'd made, but I did. Demyx made it quite clear in his glorified break up letter that I wasn't hiding my infatuation with Roxas very well. But that wasn't Roxas' fault, and if those bitches don't except him they're assholes and I'll beat the shit out of every single one of them, because Roxas and I are just friends. "I'm sure they'll be fine, come on." I made an attempt to drag Roxas away again, but once more he stopped me.

"Um..Axel, no offense or anything, you're always gorgeous, but today you look kinda…well you see, um, you brought a towel and stuff here, and um…look in the mirror."

After he finally managed to get the words out of his mouth, I looked in the mirror and busted out laughing. When my lungs were finally able to expand, taking in air, I asked the startled looking Roxas, "Was that your polite way of telling me I stink and look like shit?"

"Yeah, kinda." Roxas admitted.

"Okay, shower, then friends." I patted the top of Roxas' head before beginning to strip.

oOo

Axel had a laugh that I thought most people would find obnoxious, but I loved it. It was the first thing that attracted me to him. It was a loud and attention grabbing sound that summed him up pretty well. And it was very much a part of him. Axel without that loud intolerable laughter was like an ice cream cone without ice cream. He'd be incomplete without the unique laugh that would identify him to anyone. And I loved my Axel for everything that completed him. Oh damn! I just said love and claimed him as mine, didn't I?

I meant I love, in the completely platonic way, Demyx's Axel, for everything he is, and that includes his beautifully obnoxious laughter. "Was that your polite way of telling me I stink and look like shit?"

"Yeah, kinda." I admitted. Really, he was still absolutely delicious, and he didn't actually smell bad, he just didn't smell clean. The only reason I'd said anything was because I had a feeling that Axel would've preferred to be a little cleaner before venturing into the world.

"Okay, shower, then friends." Axel said as he patted my head. Then he peeled his shirt off and my mouth was undoubtedly hanging open as I gawked at his well sculpted chest. "I know I'm beautiful, but you're going to start catching flies." Axel commented, throwing his shirt to the floor and I felt my face heat up. "Aww, now it's Roxy's turn to blush." How did I know that comment would come back to bite me in the ass?

"I'm not…uh…" I tried as Axel removed his pants. "You're not gonna completely strip in front of…Oh Lord!" There go the boxers. I turned around, attempting to give Axel some privacy, only to realize that the mirror gave me and excellent view of his naked ass of perfection. And rather than turn away again, I found myself staring into the glass, as if it made me less of a peeping Tom, and watched Axel step into a shower stall and fail to close the curtain all the way.

That small space gave me enough room to see every single naked inch of him. And damn, he was sexy. My eyes seemed to be glued to the droplets of water pouring down his back. I knew it was wrong to watch him like this, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. When soap mixed in with the water gently caressing every inch of bare skin making up Axel's back I turned away from the mirror and looked directly at him, silently inching closer to the desirable man in shower.

I mentally slapped myself for my tactless behavior when I heard the shower getting turned off. Quickly I raced to the counter, scooped up Axel's towel, and ran it over to him before he could open the curtain. I shoved the towel through the crack I had previously been spying through, and waited for Axel to take it, while keeping my eyes shut tight. I couldn't handle that sight again. I just might rape him if I see him naked again. "Why thank you Roxas." And why does he have to say my name all sexy and sultry like that. I backed away from the shower until I ran into a wall and finally opened my eyes. I watched Axel as he stepped out, with the towel hanging low on his hips. My only thought was towels are evil. "Well?" Axel asked, then held his arms out and spun in a circle, "Sexy?"

I nodded, unable to form any sort of words as I watched a stray drop of water make it's way down Axel's chest and cling to the curve of his 'V' disappearing into the depths of the towel. 'O, that I were a drop upon that man, that I may touch that skin!' I'd be in pure ecstasy to live out such a fantasy as that. Damn, I was seriously fucked up. The first friend I make here and I played peeping Tom on him while he took a shower. And now I'm continuing to stare as he pulls on his clothes. What kind of filth does that?

When Axel finished getting dressed and brushing the knots out of his hair he turned to me, leaving less than a foot of space between us. Had we been that close the entire time? "Ready?" He asked, and when his piercing green eyes met mine I lost all control. My hand darted up; gripping Axel's newly combed hair, I pulled him down to me so that I could crush our lips together. Axel fought me for about two seconds before giving in, and taking over.

His tongue traced my bottom lip, begging for entrance, which I willingly gave. Our tongues battled passionately as our hands explored each other's bodies and our breathing quickened. Before I knew it, I was being lifted up and placed on the counter with Axel standing between my trembling legs and running his hands up and down them, never once breaking our fervent kiss. When I felt a hand find its way into my shirt I gasped into the kiss that was nearly suffocating me, and then it was all gone. Axel pulled away from me and was now all the way across the room with a shocked expression on his face.

oOo

Hearing Roxas' gasp was like a wakeup call to me. What the fuck was I doing?! I was supposed to be pushing him away, not making out with him on a bathroom sink. We were just friends, added to that I just lost Demyx. I untangled all my limbs from Roxas and backed away, as far as possible. I enjoyed that too much. Way too much. He made me feel alive in so many ways Demyx couldn't. And the passion in his kiss was so desirable; I thought I'd die if I could never experience fierceness such as that again. But I wouldn't sacrifice his happiness for my own; I couldn't destroy another human being, not again. What I did to Demyx was detestable and I couldn't bare it if I did that to Roxas as well. "Axel?"

"Roxas, I-I'll destroy you. I'd make you wish you'd never been born and you'll try to off yourself. We can't be more than friends." I said desperately as I clutched at my hair again and slid down the wall. "I can't risk that."

Roxas hopped off the counter and started to walk towards me with a slight hesitancy in his step. When I tried to crawl away he sat down, grabbed my arm with more strength than was necessary, and forced me to remain in my position. "I'm not that fragile. And I don't know what the hell gives you the idea that I would kill myself."

"Demyx…" I choked out, "I'm the reason Demyx tried to kill himself."

"What? When?!" the grip on my arms loosened.

"Yesterday."

"Axel, why didn't you tell me?" Roxas asked quietly and pulled me into a hug. I found the way he gently laced his fingers through my hair and rubbed invisible circles on my back so comforting that I completely relaxed in his arms and closed my eyes, soaking in the feeling. No one had ever held me like this before. My dad didn't believe in affection, unless it was given to a woman, and my mother died a long time ago, Zexion's always been an emotionless statue, last night was the first time I ever thought he may not be a robot, and Demyx always needed me, so no one had ever given me any sort of comfort like Roxas was doing now. But it felt so good; like this was something I'd been missing my entire life. It felt like this was something no person should live without. "We can just be friends Axel. I'm sorry about my behavior. I don't know what made me act like that. But Axel, Demyx had much deeper issues. No matter what you did or didn't do, for Demyx to want to kill himself over it, he's pretty messed up. It's not your fault. What makes you think it was you?"

"His suicide note." I replied softly against his shoulder. "He said he saw the way I looked at you, and that me and him…He said without me he had nothing left to live for."

"Axel, that was incredibly cruel of him to do. To put all that guilt on you…Axe." Roxas held me tighter and I let him comfort me. That's what friends are for, right? It was okay to allow him to touch me, if it was only to make me feel better, right? Eventually we did stand up and I grabbed his hand, "Just friends?" I asked.

"Just friends." He agreed and I led him towards my dorm room.

oOo

Axel's dorm was very red, and much like his laugh, very intense and attention seeking, very him, and I loved it. I also loved that he'd forgiven me for molesting him in the bathroom. I really had no idea what had come over me, and even though it was the best few minute of my life, I regretted it. Axel had just broken up with his boyfriend, who blamed him for his wanting to die, how awful. I hated myself for doing that to Axel. I was the one who had said we were just going to be friends. I was the one who didn't want to get in the way of him and Demyx. I was the one who kissed him. And I was the one who just realized, I want to be more than his friend. I am an ass.

"If you want you can leave your things in here so we don't have to go to your dorm too." Axel suggested and I nodded, before placing my bathroom supplies on his incredibly messy desk, while he threw his clothes in a rather large dirty clothes pile, and my heart sunk. I even loved his mess. Why, why am I doing this to myself? I can't have him, I shouldn't be falling in love with him, and yet here I was, falling deeper and deeper the more I learned about him. Maybe it'd be best if I pushed him away from me. But he needs a friend right now; I can't abandon him while he's falling apart. "So who's Sora?"

"What?" Why was he asking about him? "Why, w-why does it m-matter?"

"Well, it doesn't matter. I was just curious, you know, because you mentioned him." I thought that over for a minute as I leaned against Axel's desk and decided, as long as Sora isn't going to this college, it wouldn't hurt. Axel had told me a lot about himself in the short time I'd know him, and I felt comfortable enough to tell him almost anything about me.

"He's my brother, um…twin."

"Twin? So are you really close with him?" Axel asked, sounding genuinely interested in my life. I idly wondered if he was this interested in Demyx too. What if Demyx decided that breaking up with Axel was wrong? What if they get back together? I suppose Axel might be happy if that happened. I'll just have to pretend to be excited for him.

"When we were younger, but not anymore."

"Why is that?"

"He's popular, and I'm a geek. The two crowds don't mix. Sora is friends with everyone, and I'm friends with no one. Sora plays sports, I run as far away from the jocks as possible. Sora has a girlfriend, I don't. Actually, I don't really care for girls, so Sora is the apple of my parents' eyes, and I'm the black sheep."

"So, that's why you transferred schools, isn't it, to escape your previous life?"

"Yeah. I was a nobody, and when Sora's around, that's all I can be."

"I highly doubt that. You are extraordinary in my eyes and I can't imagine anyone outshining you." Huh? Axel could be quite confusing at times. He says he wants to be friends, but that sounds like something more than a friend would say. Maybe he's just confused because he's still upset over Demyx.

"Thanks Axel, but no one notices me when Sora is around, and I doubt you'd be immune to it."

"If you say so Roxy. But Sora isn't here, so no worries. And you got friends here, at least you have me." Axel tried to cheer up the depressing mood that had fallen over us.

"Axel I don't think you're friends are going to like me."

"Of course they will."

"You said Demyx wrote that he saw the way you looked at me, and that's why he, you know…they'll blame me."

"Don't worry Roxy, Zexion and I are the only ones who read it. And Zexion won't blame you; he doesn't even completely blame me."

"And Demyx?"

"…Um, Demyx…is friendly." I glared at Axel, "Come on, you want to make friends, I have plenty. They'll all be in the cafeteria right now, let's go introduce you." Axel said as he grabbed my wrist.

"Axel I really don't think this is a good idea." I insisted as he pulled me through his door and down the hall.

"Nonsense. My ideas are never faulty." I had a very bad feeling about this. And my feelings are always right.

AN: Don't get too caught up in the, Sora has a girlfriend thing. It was decided while I was typing this that they will both be in the story, but just trust me with this and don't get mad yet.

Thanks for all reviews, favs, and alerts. Every one of them is greatly appreciated.