Saving Axel

Chapter 8: The Date pt2

Roxas's POV

After our dinner, I found myself walking behind Axel as we wandered through the clubbing district of the town. I didn't even know we had a clubbing district, but I was more concerned with how we would get in. I'm sort of a minor, and Axel is still under 21. Isn't there an age minimum to go clubbing? I guess Axel didn't know, or care, since he pulled me another direction by my wrist which is how he had been holding me all night, like he was afraid of my hand. We reached a small, lame building with absolutely nothing for outside appeal but one neon sign.

Blue

What's Blue? Is that the name? I noticed there was a long line at the door, and Axel pulled me to the side of the building in the dark and walked me to a door which he proceeded to beat down. I was still curious and Axel's unnatural silence was getting me nowhere fast. Then the door opened to reveal a tall, scary brunette with beady blue eyes.

"Evening, Lexaeus. I have passes!" He pulled two passes attached to lanyards. Where the hell had those come from? I hadn't even known he had one. Axel put one in my hand after inspection and walked forward after Lexaeus made circles on his hands, and he made X's on my hands. I followed him closely as we ventured down the long, black hallway on a downward slant. When we stopped at a door, Axel stopped me, and all I could see were his green eyes.

"Stay close, got it memorized?" I gave a short okay as my response, hoping that in the dark he didn't see me roll my eyes at his stupid catch phrase. Why would I have to stay close in the little old shack; a total of maybe thirty people could fit into this place~ wow.

I was totally awestruck when Axel opened the door and walked in. The place was very large. I remembered the downward slope, but it was too gradual to really make a difference, but there clearly was. There were three floors from what I could see. The top was where socializing and the entrance were, and I saw a large number of people dressed in clubbing clothes walking down the stairs giggling about their plans for the night. Then the next floor was a large bar and a bunch of tables and couches for you to sit with your drinks. There were a lot fewer people up there, but who really cares? I can't drink, so I have no business up there. Then there was the bottom floor where we walked in at that held the crazed dancers and the performing stage. The bass poured heavily out of the speakers, and I could barely think with all of the noise. Axel grabbed my wrist as we weaved through the dancers.

I was grabbed at a few times, but Axel would push them off, and I could only assume they were really into the dance and music…or were really drunk. Whatever the reason, people were trying desperately to pry me from Axel. When we reached the other side, we walked up the steel stairs past tipsy women and horny guys. We walked into a smaller area, and Axel showed our passes to a really energetic guy with blonde hair. I think Axel called him Zell, but I could barely hear him. We walked to a smaller area with private tables and couches for those who were having a party or other things. I noticed a familiar group as Axel ran over and slid down onto the couch. It was Larxene, Marluxia, and Zexion, plus another man I didn't recognize from before. He had a pony tail and an eye patch with many scars on his face. Marluxia was drinking what I guessed was beerwhile Larxene leaned against him, stealing sips from the huge glass from time to time. The mystery man was sipping a beer as well and laughing with the others. I sat beside Zexion as he read a book quietly with large headphones on to block out the sound of the club. I was about to wave my hand in his face to get his attention to greet him when the mystery man pulled me over to him so I fell onto his lap.

"So," he began curiously, "this is the great Roxas Strife I heard about. What's so different about this little shrimp?" I growled due to being called a shrimp. Axel walked over gruffly and grabbed me by the forearm and pulled up off of the man.

"Lay off, Xigbar," he called over the music and sat me on the opposite side of Zexion. Axel flicked him on the head and received a glare back. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere than here, so I wondered why he was even here at all. Axel sat beside Marluxia and began to talk happily with them again and laugh. I was a little disappointed to say the least. I was rather curious to see what Axel finds so interesting about me that he just couldn't leave alone. I heard the bass weaken, and I guessed that was the end of the song. Zexion shifted beside me and pulled out his phone and checked the time. He put his book down and everyone, even Xigbar, shut up and looked to him. He just had that air around him that called for attention.

Demyx's show is what I read from his lips. He got up, and for the first time I saw what he was wearing and smiled. He did like Demyx, and there was no doubting it. He was dressed in black, ripped up jeans and converse shoes. His earphones hung around his neck while there was a golden half heart on a gold chain. I remembered seeing Demyx wearing a silver half heart that looked like it would fit right in with the half Zexion wore. For his shirt, he wore a black, short-sleeved top. Written on the front in vertical, splatter paint read Demyx Rox.

He walked toward the door followed by Marluxia who was wearing what he wore to school that day: jeans and a blue button up shirt. Larxene had changed clothes and as she held Marluxia's arm for support, I saw she was dressed in impossibly high pink heels and a black mini-skirt with a pink top that left little to the imagination. I had a feeling guys have been staring, and Marluxia's been bashing heads.

Their relationship still confused me. Marluxia was this happy, fun-loving, pacifist who had an obsession with flowers. Larxene is a headstrong, mostly angry person who believes in violence first and has a love of lightning. I saw Axel had stopped by the door of the room and waited for me to come from my thoughts and follow him. We walked down the same steel stairs, and I saw Marluxia and Larxene shifting through the crowd to get to the front row as some man who was dressed in black set up the microphone and made sure the guitar was properly plugged into the amp.

"Demyx plays this place regularly!" Axel shouted to me over the noise. "This is Zexy's sweet planning skills. He got Demyx his break here since his dad owns this place!" he continued, and I looked to the slate haired man who leaned against the wall near the stairs. He still looked like he would rather be anywhere but here, and I had to laugh. The kid's dad owned a night club, and his son hated loud noises. The cheering got louder suddenly as Demyx ran onto the small stage and yelled to the audience. They tried to get onto the stage or grab his feet, but he stood a good distance back. He grabbed the mic after securing the strap of the light blue electric guitar around his neck.

"Hello, Club Blue! You ready to rock?" he yelled loudly, and the thousands of answers he received were powerfully loud. I turned and noticed Zexion wasn't where we left him, and I looked around but couldn't find him, but grabbed Axel's attention. He looked confused, and I smiled toward him, and he nodded as he grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me closer to the front of the crowd. Demyx was playing a few chords on his guitar to tune it and we arrived beside Marluxia and Larxene as he held her back to his chest to protect her from rabid fans. Axel just kept a firm grip on my wrist.

"Let's start the night off right!" They all cheered again, and I cheered a little even though this would be the first time I ever heard Demyx's music. Axel had talked about it on the way over. It was normally voiceless and just guitar solos, but it still seemed pretty good. I was just wondering if Zexion would see this.

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Demyx had played over five songs and looked like a sweaty mess, but he was a great performer. On his drink breaks on stage he would talk to the audience and such and just be the funny guy he is. Axel seemed to be enjoying himself, and I allowed myself to enjoy this as well. It wasn't very often I let my wild side out, but this was still pretty calm.

"He always ends with his song Last Stand, but I don't think he will tonight," Axel whispered into my ear. I looked over, confused, and saw Axel pointing to Zexion who had returned to the area by the stairs. He looked as if he never moved to begin with. I looked back to the stage right before Demyx turned to face the audience.

"Alright, let's finish off with Las~" He stopped abruptly and gazed at Zexion in confused wonder. I saw the glint of his silver half of the necklace and smiled as Axel chuckled at my side. "Change of plans. Let's finish off with one of my personal favorites I wrote for someone who can hear it for the first time." I looked over to see Zexion's one visible eye was larger than normal as Demyx started to play slowly with the chords going up the scale and down and it again in a soothing tune. Many started to slow dancewhile Demyx seemed to play an electric guitar version of a classical song. It sounded like the stuff a mother plays her sleeping infant to increase brain growth, though with less orchestra and more guitar.

I turned to see Larxene dancing with Marluxia and Axel swaying to the rhythm. He took my head and started to lean it on time with his movement, causing me to laugh. It was totally unlike the previous atmosphere of head banging and heavy guitar. If you knew Axel's friends, you'd know this was written for Zexion. When the song was over, the audience cheered loudly until Demyx disappeared behind the small stage, and the DJ came back into view. I noticed Zexion walk off behind Demyx,and Axel dragged me back up the steps before I could speak with Zexion. We walked up the stairs and back to our little area and grabbed some drinks.

"Zexion and Demyx will be fine," Axel reassured me as he leaned back on the silvery cushions and placed an arm along the top behind me. I sighed and nodded, but the smug look in Axel's eyes told me he somehow planned this. I wondered what was going on with those two…

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Demyx's POV

That was terrible! Where the hell had Zexion come from? His parents may own the place, but he never came, and I mean never came. I sort of just played the first song I wrote, and I think Zexion hated it. Damn! This had to be my best line up ever and the largest number of people yet and Zexion had to come watch and see me~

"Demyx?" called a quiet voice from behind me. I turned to face the person who walked in, hands still gripping my hair as if to tear it out. I stared at Zexion and mentally kicked my ass for being an idiot."I liked the show," he said, and I paused from my pre-prepared line of shit to explain why he hated the show.

"Seriously?" I asked after a long pause of confusion. Zexion hated loud noises and music, that's why I did a calm, guitar version of one of his favorite classical songs. But he liked it?

"Yes. I'm not normally a fan of that kind of music, but yours is the only one I can stand." I smiled at the knowledge that Zexion can stand my loud, obnoxious music. Then I noticed the shirt he was wearing and saw our friendship necklacefrom when we were sixaround his neck. I smiled wider than I thought possible while he cracked a small one that one may never see. Zexion doesn't show emotion often, and I was one of the few that has seen him being emotional; Axel, Marluxia, and Larxene being the others. Zexion walked closer to me.

"Did you like the last song?" I decided to take a chance. "Honest opinion."

"My honest opinion would have to be… I loved it. It was my favorite one you played." He turned his back to me, and I let my instincts take over, and I pulled his arm around to stop him from leaving and crashed our lips together. It was the best feeling I had ever experienced. Trust me, I've kissed a lot of girls and guys alike, but none compared to Zexion.

But as it happened, I didn't know what Zexion was thinking.

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Roxas's POV

"Come on, let's go dance!" Axel sprang up from the couch and held out a hand to me. I hesitated with a grimace on my face, but he just grabbed my arm and placed my glass of water on the table and dragged me to the dancing floor.

"Axel!" I protested, but my voice was lost in the layers of drunken voices and heavy bass. We stopped in a small clear spot when I yanked his head down to my mouth. "I can't dance!" I yelled. He heard me, but I barely heard myself. He looked to me curiously, and I sighed. He grabbed my wrist and lifted it straight in the air causing me to rise to my tip toes and he still had to lean down into my ear and I was very aware of his breath on my ear. Was this gesture supposed to be so…sexual?

"I'll teach you," he whispered right, and I mean right, against my ear, so I heard him quite clearly.He grabbed my hands. "Move with me!" he called, and he started to shake his head and hips and arms making me dance with him a little bit, but I was stiff in my dancing. "Relax! Let the music move you!" he yelled, and I did something really stupid that from this point on became a natural occurrence.

I did what Axel told me to do.

I listened to the loud constant beating of the bass accompanied by the electronic melody and started to timidly move to the beat of the bass for a few minutes. I looked over to Axel who was watching with a smirk. His look told me what he wanted to say: You can do better, Roxas. I started to move to the melody, twisting and turning with the crowd, standing or getting low to the floor,and I was smiling a real smile with Axel. I was actually having fun and throwing my body all around the crowded dance floor. Axel noticed I was finally loosening up and grabbed my hand, not my wrist, and intertwined our fingers and lifted them into the air and brought us dancing closer. When the bass became a lot lower, people started to well, grind. I never did before, and wasn't about to with Axel.

I was ready to push away when he just set his hands on my waist and moved us with a space between us. I danced slowly, since I was really tired, and I lost track of what time it was. I fell back onto Axel lightly and yawned. He grabbed my wrist again and got me off the floor and up the stairs. We saw Demyx sitting beside Zexion, closer than normal, but then I noticed the two holding hands behind the book Zexion was reading. Axel grabbed our coats and said a quick good-bye to his friends, and I did the same. We left, swaying back and forth as we laughed happily

"Just a question: if that was an adult club, how did we get in?" I asked when we came to a stop in the local park. He sat on the bench and pulled my arm so I fell lopsidedly onto the bench, and we laughed about my stupidity until he held out his pass on the lanyard he still had yet to remove.

"Well, Zexion's old man owns that place~"

"Hard to believe," I interrupted, and Axel laughed a little.

"Yeah, but when Demyx performs, we get free passes to the room we were in, and we get unlimited free water. The only one allowed to buy beer is Xigbar, because he's twenty-two. He buys a drink for Marluxia and Larxene though; just one."

"Does he ever buy any for you?" I was actually curious if Axel drank when given the option, even if it's just one. I watched his carefree smile disappear for a minute, and the brightness of his green eyes dulled slightly as if remembering something unpleasant. I instantly wished I could take back my question.

"Uh… No. I don't plan to drink, ever,"he said, and I nodded. It was silent for a little bit, just sitting side by side staring at the stars. We may be in a city or town, whatever you wish to call this place, but you could still see thousands of stars. "Big Dipper," he said randomly, and I turned to look at him. His spikes were smashed against the bench and his neck was perfectly exposed as he stared at the sky. He didn't spare me a glance and pointed to the sky. "North star."

"Aquila the Eagle is there, right?" I pointed to a cluster of stars, and he nodded. We stared as he continued to point clusters out and constellations within other ones to the point where our necks hurt, and we moved to the grass. We lay side by side, and as he or I pointed out a constellation, Axel would tell a story about them. They were joke stories about how they became constellations that made me laugh loudly. I was quite content to lay here as long as I could… I hadn't had this much fun in I couldn't tell you how long.There was something about Axel that just…captivated me; I couldn't think of anything other than what we were doing or what we would do next.

"How do you know so much?" I asked, and he laughed slightly.

"In the past, one of my foster fathers was an astronomer, and we would do just this," he sighed, and I nodded.

"I guess we have one thing in common for sure. My parents don't love me nor did they~"

"Of course they did… and do!" Axel fired and sat up quickly. I had a feeling I hit a nerve of his. "I'm not going to pry if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm sure they had a reason," he said heatedly, and I nodded. What else could I do? What would you have done if Axel was glaring at you being so much bigger than you? He was rather scary when he needed to be. He lay down beside me again, and we stayed silent, but it wasn't awkward in the slightest. I shivered slightly from the slight late September chill and Axel took off his jacket and placed it over my torso. I was about to give it back when he placed his hand on my torso to stop me removing it.

"I'm always warm," he assured me, and I nodded silently and went back to star gazing. I heard some shifting and turned to see Axel looking at his phone. "Shit," he cursed and got up, handing me his hand to pull me up. I got up, confused. What time was it~ oh, shit! I was way past curfew! As we hurriedly walked out of the local park, I checked my phone and almost choked on the air I was breathing. No later than midnight huh; well it was almost four a.m., and I was so dead. See, this is one of the many reasons me spending time with Axel is bad, but so worth it sometimes. We finally reached my house at 4:10 a.m., and Axel sighed when he saw the one light on inside.

"I'm sure I just pushed you up shit creek without a paddle, huh?" he asked quietly, and I laughed. "I'm really sorry. I'm sure this is not the proper first impression with Leon and Yuffie I was going for. Sora already hates me, but now, so will your family."

"They won't hate you as long as I'm unscathed and happy. Trust me." He smiled and looked around awkwardly.

"Isn't this the part where I kiss you goodnight?" Axel asked with a suggestive smirk, and I punched his arm lightly.

"I'd say you've kissed me enough and then some as of late, Axel!" I hissed, annoyed, as he as he gave a quiet laugh. "I had fun. Thank you." I walked up the steps and opened the door and turned back to Axel's retreating form. "Get home safely! I'll see you tomorrow!" I called in a normal voice, and thanks to the silence of the night, he heard me and nodded as I walked in and closed the door behind me. I walked into the dark living room, intent on getting my jackets and such hung up, and was wearing the biggest natural smile I've smiled in years…

…until the lights flicked on to reveal and angry Yuffie, Leon, and steaming Sephiroth. Oh, I was so screwed.

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"Is it that bad?" Axel asked me in homeroom the following Monday as I fixed up my glasses on my face. I had got them on Saturday and was grateful they were back. I nodded glumly as I remembered what happened.

Friday Night

"Where were you, young man?" Yuffie cried out, and I cringed. "I was worried sick!" She smothered me with a hug.

"I would expect Sora to be late with a curfew, maybe a half hour, but I would never have guessed you." Leon sighed and placed his thumb and pointer finger on his forehead.

"Especially being four hours late," Sephiroth finished. "He's lucky I don't castrate him~"

"What happened? Anything exciting?" Yuffie asked, and I sighed.

"Yuff, it wasn't a date; more like a get together to get to know each other better."

"Yuffie?" Leon asked in disbelief, and she looked over to him and gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, hun! Three weeks grounded; now tell me what you did!" she asked excitedly. This woman did not stay mad easily…or at all in my opinion.

Monday Morning

Three weeks grounded, and Yuffie wanting all the details in which I gave some and made up others. You try telling your mother (mother figure in my case) that you went to a club with a printed lie about your age, watched a concert from a friend of your friend, and danced like a maniac until we split… I don't think you'd want to tell her that. It was great, yet horrifying, and Sora keeps glaring at Axel whenever he sees him. Axel frowned, and I gave him his leather jacket.

"You forgot to remind me to give it to you, smart one," I told him, and he nodded with a smile on his face. "So, what are you here for this morning?" I asked and Axel's smirk widened into a smile. He normally came in to wait for the nurse who pals around in here since our homeroom teacher is never here in the morning. I never really know what's up, but what I saw last week didn't look good, and I was worried something like that was wrong, but he can't know I know about that. Hell, even I don't know what I know now.

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas," Axel sighed. "I came in this morning to see someone."

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"You," he said simply while smiling, and I smiled too.