Dislcaimer: I still don't own a thing.

Roxas was being swallowed in a sea of impatient students as he tried to worm his way through to the auditorium. Earlier, he had seen a blur of bright red and had been trying desperately to make his way to his friend.

"Hey! Roxas!" He turned to the left to find the source of the voice, and found a slate-haired boy a couple inches taller than him.

"Oh, hey Zexion. How was your summer?"

"It was great, actually. I was looking for you, but you were never around. What were you up to?"

Roxas stood on his toes, trying to see over the mass of people. "Not much, just hung around. Listen, I'll see you later, alright?"

Before Zexion could get a word out, Roxas had vanished into the crowd.

"All students report to the auditorium for orientation. All students report to the auditorium."

Roxas flinched in surprise as the speaker next to him roared to life, and suddenly he was being shuffled into the auditorium with the crowd and had no choice but to take his seat along with the others. He watched as a stiff shouldered man, Principal Storm, took the stage.

The man tapped on his microphone before beginning. "Hello and welcome back to another wonderful year at Sunset High! I trust you all had an enjoyable summer. I hope we can have a delightful year, and to all the seniors here, I'll be glad when you're gone!" He paused for the student body to fake a chuckle or two before moving on. "Anyway, you all know my rules, and if you don't, open your handbook. I've got work to attend to, but please welcome to the stage Coach Armstrong and his reigning team of strugglers!"

Principal Storm vacated the stage as a burly man marched onto the stage and called up the team.

A crowd of 16 guys rose from the audience and he finally spotted him. Four rows up, three seats in sat Axel, so he decided to make his move. He rose from his seat and crouched low as he made his way up the aisle. The strugglers pushed past him on their way to the stage, and he was right at Axel's row when a large hand roughly landed on his shoulder and spun him around. Roxas gulped as he looked into the face of the person who had been tormenting him since the fifth grade.

"H-hi R-Riku."

"Hey look guys, it's Rucksack!" There were obnoxious guffaws from the rest of the team. "Rucksack here is trying out for the struggle team this year!" He hoisted Roxas up over his shoulder and the blond locked eyes with Axel embarrassedly. They stared at each other for a moment before Riku broke into a run. He climbed the stairs and threw Roxas to the floor. Roxas attempted to scamper away but Riku was too quick and grabbed him up again.

"Riku, please stop!" The blond yelled out, pushing at his tormentor and tugging at his long silver hair, but nothing worked.

Riku shoved him to the ground again and the audience erupted into laughter and cheers. Riku rolled the blond over and delivered a bruising kick to his chest, knocking the wind out of him. As Roxas groaned in agony and Riku pulled back for another kick, the coach finally stepped in.

"Hey. Hey! Settle down everyone!" He focused his attention in on Roxas, who was curled up in the fetal position on the floor. "Get off my stage, boy. I've had enough of your games. Go. Get off of the stage!" He bellowed.

The crowd hushed. Roxas slowly lifted himself from the ground and limped off of the stage. Each step he took was amplified in the stark silence, and all eyes were on him. Once he was out of eyesight he broke into a run out of the double doors of the school. Fumbling with his bike lock, he struggled to see the numbers through his tears. He was in so much pain he could barely stand it, and what's worse, he was humiliated in front of the entire school. But he didn't care about any of that. Axel had seen.

He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and immediately started begging for mercy, thinking Riku had come back for more.

"You alright, Roxas?"

"I'm fine." Roxas wiped at the tears on his face and kept trying to unlock his bike.

"I know you're not fine. They shouldn't have done that to you."

Roxas gave up on the lock and decided to walk. "Yeah, well it happens. It's happened all my life. People aren't going to suddenly start being nice just because you want them to." He brushed past Axel and tried to keep the tears from falling.

"I'm really sorry I didn't do anything."

"It's okay, I didn't expect you to. I stopped expecting things from people a long time ago."

Axel stopped walking after him. "Roxas, that's not fair."

"Life's not fair, Axel. You should know that." He turned around to look at the redhead.

"Roxas, I really don't want to fight with you. You're the only friend I've got here. And I really like you."

Roxas smiled a bit. "Yeah? Well I like you too." He chuckled. "Can we just forget about all this? Please?"

"Forget about what?" He grinned. "I hear there are some hilarious movies playing now. Wanna go catch one?"

Roxas nodded.

"Alright, get your bike and I'll bring my car around, you can stick it in the back."

Roxas watched as Axel jogged off toward the senior section of the parking lot. He turned around and was able to get the lock open easily without the tears obscuring his vision. He stood with his bike, rocking on the balls of his feet to pass the time. He began looking around the premises and when his eyes reached the doors of the school, he noticed Riku standing there staring. They made eye contact, and Roxas briefly wondered how long he had been standing there before Axel pulled up in front of him. He picked up his bike and awkwardly dumped it in the backseat before running around to the passenger side and getting in. As Axel pulled off, Roxas chanced a glance behind him. Riku was still standing there. His eyes followed them until they turned out of his line of vision.

"So what's with that guy?"

"Riku? He's been after me since we were little. Fifth grade was when I first moved ahead. I came from the third grade. No one else bothered me, they all told me it was cool that I was smart enough to be with them. But not Riku. No, he made it his life's work to make me miserable every single day. He would push me in the mud or steal my lunch, things like that. It just kept getting worse. In 8th grade he decided I was finally old enough to really beat up, so he dragged me behind the bleachers and punched me until I couldn't see straight. Each year the beatings get worse. Last year he broke my arm in three places. What happened today wasn't that bad. I try to avoid him, I really do, but no matter what I do, no matter where I go, he's right behind me ready to strike. I have no idea why he does it."

"Geez. This guy must be in love with you or something. Why was he staring at you back there?"

"Oh. You saw that?" He fidgeted uncomfortably. "I really don't know. I've never actually seen him do that before."

"Don't worry about it Rox. You know…" he waggled his eyebrows a bit. "If you let me teach you to struggle you'd be better off."

Roxas chuckled. "Didn't we try that already? I'm horrible, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. But my offer still stands." Axel turned on the radio and the rest of the drive was silent.

"I'll pay for the popcorn if you get the drinks."

Roxas laughed. "Isn't that what we do every time?"

"'Isn't that what we do every time?'" A mocking voice entered from behind them.

Roxas and Axel turned to face a smirking Riku with a scantily dressed redhead hanging off of his arm.

"Kairi, why don't you go get us some seats, alright babe?"

The girl stretched and kissed him on the cheek before strutting off into the theatre.

"Well well well, what do we have here? Little Rucksack's gone and found himself a little clown friend."

Axel clenched his fists and stepped forward, towering over the bully. "Back off."

"Oh. This clown's got a few tricks up his sleeve, huh? Get out of the way, will ya? I don't care about you."

Axel stepped closer to him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Riku let out a bark of laughter. "Look like we got a couple of fags over here. You think you're gonna stop me? Think again clown boy."

"Riku," a soft voice interjected, "leave them alone."

Riku stepped back as a petite blonde girl came over.

"Namine, what are you doing here?"

She stood in front of him and put her hands on her hips. "Why are you such a jerk?"

"Why do you always stick up for him?"

"Why do you always pick on him?" She countered.

Riku stood speechless before turning around and going into the theatre.

Namine turned to Axel. "I'm sorry about my brother. I don't know why he acts the way that he does." She turned to Roxas. "I'm really sorry about today. I don't know why Coach Armstrong didn't interfere immediately. There is something seriously wrong when a crowd of people cheer and watch as someone gets hurt."

Roxas looked down at his feet.

"Listen, I'm going out with a couple of friends after the movie tonight. Do you two want to come with us?"

Axel looked down at Roxas who nodded. "Sure, yeah, we'd like that."

Namine smiled angelically. "Great. So I'll meet you in front after the show." They watched as she turned around and walked into the theatre.

Axel's eyes lingered on her retreating form before he turned back to the man at the counter who had been silently observing all of this.

"Can I get a large popcorn?"

"And how about that part when the girl-"

"When she fell through the-"

"And then she landed on the-"

"I know! That was the best part!"

The entire car, except Axel and Roxas, erupted into laughter. Axel and Roxas had been stuffed in the back of Namine's boyfriend Hayner's van, between a chatty brunette named Olette and a practically mute girl named Fuu. Some guy named Seifer, who was apparently dating both girls without any repercussions, was sitting on the other side, chatting up some obnoxiously 'alternative' girl named Xion. They were on the way back to the movie theatre from some 50's themed diner where the waitresses wore poodle skirts and roller skates. The entire affair had been very awkward, and Axel was sorry he'd accepted the offer to come along. He looked at Roxas and knew he was feeling the same way. Axel nudged Roxas' shoulder playfully, trying to ease the tension they were both feeling. Roxas chuckled and nudged him back. Just then, Axel looked up and saw that Hayner had stopped looking at the road in favor of making out with Namine. In a matter of seconds the car swerved into a ditch and everyone was flung forward out of their seats.

"What the hell Hayner?" Seifer was seething. "Couldn't you wait for that? For fuck's sake..."

Hayner tried the engine but it wouldn't start. "Guys... we might be stuck here."

The girls all groaned in unison.

Axel finally maneuvered himself into an upright position. "I know a bit about cars. Maybe I could fix it." He opened the back of the van and vanished into the night.

Seifer, in an effort to save face in front of his girls, made to get out as well. "I know more than a bit about cars. I'll go fix it."

After Seifer, everyone but Roxas filed out of the van. He knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to help, and he needed a break from those people anyway.

When Seifer got around to the front of the car Axel was already under the hood. "It looks like the cap to your fuel pump flew off, man."

"Yeah, that's right." Seifer nodded matter-o-factly.

"Hey Hayner, do you have any duct tape around? That would hold it together for now, at least for us to get home."

Seifer used his hip to bump Axel out of the way. "Definitely, yes. Somebody get me some duct tape now!" He turned to look at Axel. "It's alright man, I can handle this."

Axel didn't really care either way so he walked in way of the headlights and sat on the ground. Namine saw him and went and sat next to him.

"Don't mind Seifer. He's not bad; he just doesn't like guys upstaging him in front of Olette and Fuu."

Axel nodded. "Thanks for sticking up for Roxas, back there at the theatre."

"It's no problem. He's a good kid. I like him." She smiled absently. "You know, he did something for me once."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Hey Namine!" Hayner motioned for her to come over.

"Sorry, I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"

She got up and brushed off the back of her jeans as she walked away, and again, Axel couldn't help but watch her.

After a minute or two, Seifer figured out what he was supposed to be doing with the duct tape and the car was functioning again. Axel rose and made his way back to the van. Climbing into it, he noticed that now, Seifer was sitting between Olette and Fuu, and Xion was now sitting next to Roxas, trying to strike up an awkward conversation. He took the empty seat to Roxas' left and tuned into what Seifer was saying.

"I told you, nobody knows cars like Seifer Almasy." Olette giggled and whispered in his ear while Fuu smiled and shifted closer to him. "So are you girls coming back to my place tonight?"

Axel shook his head and decided not to listen anymore. He looked at Roxas who was struggling to keep his eyes open, and he noticed that it was almost two in the morning. He hoped Roxas wouldn't be in trouble for coming in so late. Axel smiled as Roxas lost his internal battle and fell asleep on his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Xion looking questioningly at him, but he just rolled his eyes and decided that Roxas had the right idea, so he closed his eyes and decided to rest until they got back to the theatre.

"Well isn't this adorable. Two little queers asleep in the back of my van."

"Hayner! They're not gay, leave them alone. They just fell asleep."

"Whatever you say, Nam." He poked Axel in the nose and got a swift swat to his face. "Dude, don't hit me! Wake up, we're here."

Axel opened his eyes and noticed Hayner's reddening cheek. Smiling apologetically, he turned to wake up the blond beside him.

"Hey Roxas. Roxaaaaas. Roxas!"

The blond was completely unresponsive and, as Axel shook his shoulders, his head lolled to the side.

"Just get him out, I'm already past curfew."

Axel grabbed the blond and carried him bridal style to the convertible and plopped him in the passenger seat before climbing into the driver's seat.

When they were halfway to Roxas' house, the blond woke up in a frenzy.

"Where am I? Where are we going? Axel, where are you taking me?"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Axel hurriedly stopped the car. "Roxas, calm down! You fell asleep in Hayner's van and I was just taking you home! Relax!"

Roxas' eyes cleared as he realized what was going on. He felt foolish for thinking his best friend would ever do anything so wrong to him. He noticed the massive houses they were passing and began to panic.

"Uhm, Axel, could you, uh, take me to my aunt's house. It's a little farther east, take a left here."

Axel shrugged and did as he was told, following the directions as Roxas delivered them. Soon they had entered the warehouse district, where shady back-alley deals were dealt and you couldn't trust anyone, no matter how friendly they may seem to be. Axel swallowed, feeling a bit paranoid, and pushed a button. Roxas watched as the black top covered the car.

"Hey Rox, are you sure we're going the right way? Seems pretty... I don't know... Scary over here."

"Yeah, my aunt lives over here. My parents would have killed me if I came in at," he paused to look down at the clock of the car, "3:30 in the morning. My aunt doesn't care either way." He looked out the window. "You can let me out here. Your engine's pretty loud, that would upset her."

Axel looked wary. "Are you sure? Do you want me to walk you there?"

"No! No, you don't wanna... Leave your car here unattended. I'll be fine, trust me."

Axel was unsure but decided to listen to the blond. He got out and helped him pull the old bike from the back and watched as he began pedaling down the street.

"See you later, Rox."

"Hey Namine! Wait up!" The girl in question stopped as Axel jogged up to her. As he approached she continued walking while he fell into step beside her. "The other day, when the van broke down, you told me that Roxas did something for you once." She nodded. "What did he do?"

"Last year, I was out for almost the entire third quarter because of a cheerleading accident. I was top of the pyramid, you know. So some girl down at the bottom sneezed, and everyone came toppling down. Everyone was fine, but I broke my ankle and my shoulder, and I had some internal bruising. So I was out all quarter and Roxas came to my house everyday to tell me what I'd missed and bring me my homework. If it wasn't for him, I'd have had to repeat the grade. No one asked him to do it, he just did. And he still won't tell me why."

"You're nice to him."

"What?" She asked confusedly.

"You're nice to him," he repeated. "That's why he helped you."

"Oh... I never thought about that."

They approached the parking lot where they would part ways. Axel looked to the left and saw a dirty blond in camouflage pants waving her over.

"Well, Hayner's waiting. See you later?"

"Yeah. See ya."

They walked off in opposite directions. Axel only looked back once.

"Hey, Roxy?"

"Yeah, Ax? The blond looked up from his position on the ground at his friend towering over him, struggle bat in one hand, towel in the other.

"Do you know when try-outs for the team are?"

"You're trying out?"

"Yeah," Axel said as he sat next to the blond. "I wasn't going to because of everything with you and Riku, but I really miss it, ya know? It's been the one constant thing in my life. And I was talking to Namine about it," Roxas rolled his eyes, unnoticed by Axel. "And she thinks it's a good idea."

Roxas shrugged. "You can try out if you want, you don't have to give me an explanation, I'm not your dad. Try-outs are in 2 weeks. Thursday, I think."

Axel got up to practice some more. "Hey, Roxy?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to teach you to struggle?"

Roxas ignored him and put in his headphones.

Axel walked onto the sandlot in awe - the small patch of dirt he'd struggled on back home was nowhere near as nice. He supposed, with Sunset High having a legitimate team, they'd need to have an adequate area for games. He noticed an open garage to his left that seemed to house an enormous platform - most likely for the important final games. He forced himself to stop admiring the layout and focused on the thirty or so people around him. Two pairs of students were struggling in the center while all the others watched. He spotted Coach Armstrong among the mass, eyes hidden by shades, writing furiously on a clipboard. He noticed that Seifer was one of the four fighting just as he knocked a small boy, probably a freshman, to the ground. A whistle was blown and the boy was called off the field as another was sent on. This one was larger than the first, but looked even more nervous. He approached and went into a very precise and obviously practiced stance as Seifer, who was obviously bored, stood there lazily, bat dangling at his side. Just as the whistle was blown for them to begin, Axel's attention was called away as someone clapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see Hayner standing there grinning.

"Hey new kid, put your name on the list. Don't just stand there looking happy."

He jogged back to the center of the sandlot as Axel pushed through random kids to sign up, and then continued watching the fights.

He watched as one by one Seifer defeated every kid who opposed him. He couldn't tell who was fighting on the opposite side, so he slowly made his was the far side, where he found a brawny guy fighting Riku. Axel watched rapturously, sure he was about to see Roxas' bully fall, but in less than a minute Riku had the large boy on his knees. He realized that yes, Riku was strong, but his biggest strength was his speed. Riku defeated everyone he fought with ease - some lasted longer than others, but Riku never broke a sweat.

"FUCK!"

Axel turned to the disturbance and saw Seifer on the ground. Standing next to him was a goofy looking brunette with a cocky grin on his face. Seifer got up grumpily and raised the kid's hand in the air.

"New member of the team here! Sora Park!" He announced to the crowd. They all cheered for him as Seifer led him out of the crowd. Hayner took his spot on the field and called out the new candidate. Axel noted that Hayner's movements were powerful, but slow and completely predictable. A whistle blew.

"You Axel Sinclair?" The coach asked and he nodded. "You're up against Riku."

Axel gave him a curt nod and took of his leather jacket, dropping it just outside the fighting area. He twirled his bat in his hand as he walked toward the center. Axel approached the boy slowly, smirking down at him when he stopped.

"You ready, clown?"

"Shut up."

And the whistle blew.

Riku immediately jumped back, avoiding Axel's first strike. But Axel was expecting that, and used the momentum from his lunge to jump forward and hit him his side. Riku backed up, and they began circling each other. Suddenly, Riku broke into a run and jumped, bringing his bat down over Axel's collarbone. The redhead had been studying his fighting style and quickly stepped to the right, grabbed Riku's left leg and pulled down, throwing him to his knees before swiftly hitting him in the back of his neck. Riku choked before landing on the ground. Axel stood straight and laughed, throwing his hands in the air and accepting the roaring applause that swarmed him. Riku got up and glared, roughly grabbing his wrist and holding it high.

"New member of the team! Axel Sinclair!"

He dropped his hand. "Follow me."

Axel followed him beyond the crowd into the locker room. Waiting inside was the rest of the team: Leon, Cloud, Setzer, Seifer, a few nameless faces, and the newcomer, Sora, stood right beside Axel. Hayner was still outside struggling against new players. Riku walked in and closed the door behind him.

Standing in front of the two new members, he began a clearly practiced speech. "This is my team. I've been number one since I was a freshman, and I've never lost a match." Axel rolled his eyes; clearly he had forgotten about his loss five minutes prior. "I've carried the Sunset Strugglers to the finals each year. It's an honor to be a part of this team. Don't screw up." With that, he pushed past the two boys and left the way he came in.

Axel turned to the boy beside him. "I'm Axel."

"Sora."

And they walked forward to the mass of people in front of them.

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