Sora
"We need to talk."
I nearly jump out of my skin, whipping around quickly to face Roxas. "Jeez, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" He just stares at me for a long moment, waiting for me to respond to what he said. "Oh... uhm, yeah we do need to talk."
"Do you have a few?" he asks. I glance up at the clock and nod. It's still a few minutes until first period. "I talked to my mom... well, my step-dad actually. She didn't want to talk about Cloud."
"Yeah... I talked to my dad too..."
There's a bit of an awkward pause before he starts talking again. "So... we're brothers..."
"Yupp..." I trail off, not knowing what to say.
"What's Dad like?" he asks me, seeming very curious.
I smile, "Dad's great. He's my best friend... I hardly even remember he's my dad half the time. What's Mom like?"
He looks down, and I can tell that this isn't going to be good. "She's... she's an alcoholic. She hasn't held down a job since I was a kid... but Zack supports us well enough. He runs his own law firm, which means he's always incredibly busy, but he's a decent guy."
"Yeah... Dad told me about Zack. They were best friends, apparently."
"He told me about that! It sucks that they just stopped talking... maybe we could've known each other sooner," he says, getting a little more comfortable around me now.
Suddenly I get an idea, and grin at him. "What if we got them to hang out again?"
"You mean Zack and Dad? I don't know... Zack didn't want Mom to find out that you were in town. He thinks it would hurt her..."
I shrug, "So don't tell her. If she's drunk all the time anyways, is she really going to notice?"
"I guess not," he agrees, smiling, "Yeah! This weekend, we should totally get them together somehow. Zack seemed to really miss him... but he thinks Dad hates him for marrying Mom."
"But he totally doesn't. He was kinda glad to be rid of Mom..."
Roxas chuckles a little, "Well yeah. If he doesn't like ladies, I'm sure he would be."
"Whoa whoa whoa... what? Dad isn't gay!" I exclaim, totally surprised and amazed.
"Zack told me that Mom found him in bed with a guy," he tells me, looking confused now.
I close my locker and lean against it. "That's a total lie. There's no way Dad's gay."
"That's just what Zack told me... he mentioned a name later that night too... Leon Hart?"
I think for a moment, then nearly choke on my own spit. "Whoa, wait... Hart... That's Riku's last name! Was he saying that Riku's dad is gay too?!"
"I dunno, man. Maybe we should ask Riku about it?" he suggests as the bell rings.
"Yeah, he's in my first class. I'll talk to him about it then," I say, running down the hall to class. I scoot in right as the teacher begins her lecture, and I apologize profusely. "Sorry, I got lost," I lie, taking my seat by my friends.
Namine and Xion stop talking when I sit down, and I chuckle. "What, plotting against me?"
"No, wondering what's going on with you and that Roxas guy!"
I explain the whole thing to them, then turn to Riku. "Uhm... Is your dad's name Leon?"
He nods, looking confused. "Yeah, why?"
"Does he... does he know my dad?"
"I don't think so... My mom might," he says, and it hits me that if his dad is gay, he has no idea.
I sigh softly in relief. "So your parents are together?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't they be? Did someone tell you they weren't?" he asks me, sounding concerned and angry.
"No, no! Uhm... it was a stupid thing to say, sorry."
He settles down and I turn back to the teacher, relieved that everything Roxas told me seemed to be a lie. Dad isn't gay... he would've told me. He tells me everything.
Roxas
"Hey Sora, you wanna come sit by us?" I call to my brother at lunch, waving him and his friends over to our table.
They come sit down, and I look around for Axel, who doesn't seem to be here yet.
"Hi guys! I'm Demyx, and this is Zexion," Demyx introduces them, smiling. I didn't get to meet Zexion yesterday because he was out sick, but he seems like a really cool guy. Quiet, though. Very quiet.
"Demyx, we all know who you are, silly!" Namine exclaims, giggling. "Sora and Roxas are the only new guys here, the rest of us have gone to school together forever!"
He thinks about that for a moment, then shrugs. "Oh yeah... sorry," he says sheepishly, grinning.
"Oh my God, are we going to become a big group of friends?" Xion says happily, looking overly excited.
"Yes!" Demyx agrees in his usual overly excited way. "Oh, we so should! I don't know why we didn't hang out before!"
They continue to chatter on and I look for Axel again, wondering where he is, and why I care so much.
"Looking for someone?" I hear behind me. I turn to see Axel sitting next to me. He must've sat down when I was looking the other way.
"Uhm... no, just spacing out," I lie, faking a laugh. For some reason, him being there relaxes me a little. "Did you hear? Sora and I are twins."
He stares at me for a moment. "You must've really been spacing, dude... we're way past that," he tells me.
"Oh... sorry," I apologize, turning back to everyone. "What did I miss?"
"Well, we were thinking about having a party this weekend, but we don't know where we'd have it."
A party? I'm not really the party type... but it could be fun, I suppose.
"Wait!" Sora exclaims, startling Kairi a bit. I think she might've been falling asleep against him. "The house on the island! It's perfect! We kept it so we could go there on weekends occasionally... I bet Dad would totally let us use it this weekend!"
"Dude, that's awesome!" Axel yells, this time startling me. "You totally need to find out tonight!"
They continue to chatter on about the party, but my phone rings and I check the text message.
Roxas, I need to tell you something. This one is from Pence. He doesn't usually text during school, so I wonder what's wrong.
What's up? I ask him.
I wasn't going to say anything... but I can't hold it in anymore. Roxas... Olette and Hayner are sleeping together. I caught them in the hideout last night.
I leap up out of my chair, angry as all hell. "What the fuck?!" I shout, forgetting that Pence isn't here.
"Jesus, Roxas! What the hell?!" Axel shouts, now wearing his milk.
But I don't stick around to say sorry. I run to the bathroom and lock myself in a stall, continuing to text Pence.
You're lying... you have to be.
Dude, I saw it with my own eyes. Hayner told me this has been going on for a long time...
How long?
There's a long pause between messages, but eventually he sends one. Since before you left...
I can't keep talking about this, I just break down sobbing, throwing my phone down on the ground.
"Roxas...?" I hear someone at the sink say.
"Leave me alone," I growl, not caring who it is. The person picks up my phone and knocks on the stall door. "Seriously, leave me alone!" I scream, slamming my hand against the door.
He sighs and I can hear him lean against the door. "It's Axel... please come out and talk to me..."
My breath catches and I stop crying for a moment. Something makes me unlatch the door and step out of the stall, but I immediately crumble into his arms, sobbing deeply again. "Axel... she was cheating on me... with my best friend..."
"Oh jeez, Roxas..." he mutters, holding me tight in his arms.
"We were together for four years... I loved her..." I mumble through my tears, choking up again.
"Roxas... it'll be okay, I promise..." he tries to comfort me.
It takes me awhile to realize that he's shirtless, and I look up at him. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
"You made me spill milk all over myself, Rox..."
"Oh... I'm sorry, Axel..."
He smiles at me, "Don't worry about it... I grabbed my gym shirt out of my locker. Here, gimme a second and I'll change."
I unwrap myself from him and watch him reach for his shirt. He's totally ripped... his body looks incredible. He slides the t-shirt on and I frown a bit, but I don't know why. I just don't understand why I can't seem to take my eyes off of him.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asks, snapping me out of my daze.
"A little..." I say, sliding my phone into my pocket. "Thanks Axel... sorry again for making a scene..."
He waves it off and hands me a paper towel to dry my eyes. "I totally get it, man... I've been cheated on before, it really sucks..."
"Sorry to hear that..."
"Eh, it's fine... he was a jerk anyways," he says, and I look up at him in surprise. "You didn't know?"
I shake my head. "You're... gay?"
He starts laughing and I smile a little. "Yeah! Wow, I thought you knew! Demyx usually tells everyone."
"Wait, are you and Demyx...?"
"Dating? No, not really. I will admit, we fool around sometimes... but we don't wanna ruin our friendship by going there."
I try to soak in the information, but it just doesn't seem real. "Wow... er, sorry. I shouldn't be so surprised. I just... at my last school, people weren't so open about their orientations," I tell him. They really weren't either. If anyone there was gay, I didn't know it.
"Oh, don't worry about it. But you'd better get used to it! I swear, half the people in this school are gay. Namine, for instance? Totally likes the ladies."
This shocks me even more. "Wow, really?"
"Ohhh yeah... Her and her friend Yuffie totally want each other, but they're both too stubborn to admit it. Ooh! We should invite Yuffie to the party too! But she's on vacation with her family right now... we'll have to ask her tomorrow when she's back."
By the time we leave the bathroom, I'm hardly thinking about Olette anymore. For some reason... Axel makes me really happy.
Sora
"Come on, Sora! Keep up!" Riku yells behind him during gym. We're running around the track, something I've never really had to do before. Yeah, I can swim for hours... but running isn't really my thing.
"I can't!" I shout up to him, hardly able to breath any more. I'm so out of it that I don't even notice a big rock that had gotten kicked onto the track. I trip over it and go down hard... so hard I black out for a few seconds.
I think I've been laying on the track for a few minutes before I hear anyone around me. "Sora... come on, Sora, open your eyes..."
The sun is incredibly bright as I squint my eyes open, and I groan and roll over onto my side. "Ouch..."
"Sora, are you okay?" Riku asks me again. I look around and notice that everyone else has gone inside. "Sora!"
"God dammit, Riku... shut up! You're hurting my head!" I snap, groaning as I sit up.
He helps me up and I grumble in pain, limping towards the school.
"We should take you to the nurse..." he tells me, and I'm in no position to answer.
"So... Mr. Strife. What hurts?" she asks me, pulling out a clipboard with a bunch of forms I'll have to fill out.
I sigh and try to think clearly. "Uhm... my head... I think I skinned my knees... my right arm too," I tell her, but in reality, everything hurts.
She checks me out and cleans me up, bandaging my various cuts and scrapes. "Do you feel like continuing the school day? Because you have so many injuries, I can let you go home without penalty."
"Uh... okay. I have my car here," I say. She writes me a note, which I drop off at the front office before heading to my locker to gather my things. I'm still in my gym clothes, but I don't really care.
Riku comes up to me, still obviously concerned. "Are they letting you go home?"
"Yeah... can you do me a favor and grab my clothes from the locker room?" I ask him, and he nods. "Thanks... you can leave them in my locker, I'll leave it unlocked for you."
"No problem, man. Drive safe."
Wait, why is Dad's car here? I wonder as I pull into the driveway. He should be at work...
"Dad?" I call as I get inside, dropping my bookbag by the door and kicking off my shoes. "Dad, why are you home so early?"
"Shit!" I hear him exclaim from his room. "Hang on a second, Sora!"
This is getting incredibly strange... I head for his room to see what's up with him.
"What. The Fuck. Dad," I say, my eyes wide.
"God damn it, Sora... this isn't... I didn't want you to find out like this..." he says, sitting up next to who I can only imagine is Leon.
I can't take my eyes off of it. It's like a train wreck that you just can't look away from... My father is laying next to another man in bed... completely naked. "Really, Dad?!" I shout, having to lean against the door frame to stay standing.
"Sora, I'm sorry! I didn't... I didn't know how to tell you!"
As quickly as I can, I struggle over to the stairs and up to my room, slamming the door behind me. It's not long before Dad is sitting down next to me on my bed.
"Look, Sora... I really am sorry that you found out like this... I was waiting to tell you until-"
"Until what? Until Mr. Hart divorces his poor wife?! Does she even know about this?!" I cut him off, scooting away from him.
He sighs, "How did you know his name?"
"I'm friends with his son, Riku," I tell him. "His son who also has no idea that his dad is gay! Whose life you're going to ruin!"
"Oh jeez... Sora... Please don't say anything to Riku... I don't want to break up their family..."
"Oh, but you're just fine fucking his dad!" I shout, "I feel like I don't even know you anymore!"
He exhales deeply, standing up. "I'm sorry, Sora... I hope you can forgive me..."
"Dad, wait..." I groan, "Are you in love with him?"
"Aside from you... I love him more than anything," he admits, looking depressed.
I sit up and sigh, "Dad, come here..."
He turns back to me and smiles a little, "Yeah, son?"
"Does he know how much you love him...?"
"Of course he does... We've been in love for years and years..."
"You know he needs to tell his wife, right?" I ask, wondering why they've gone so long like this.
He groans and lays back on my bed, clearly frustrated. "I know that... he knows that! We just don't know what to do about Riku... He'd be devastated."
"Dad, you're going to hurt him more the longer this goes on... he needs to tell them both. And I think you need to go with him..."
"You're right, Sora... you're right," he agrees.
Suddenly I remember what I needed to ask him and I grin. "Hey Dad? Some friends and I wanted to have a party this weekend... and seeing as you owe me now for all of this emotional distress... Could we use the house on the island?"
He starts laughing and hugs me. "Sure thing, son... just don't trash it, please," he warns me, not that we would anyways. "I should call Leon... we need to fess up to this tonight."
"Thanks Dad... and I'm glad to hear that. I'll be here for you if you need me."
"Sora, wake up..." I hear someone say, and I turn over in bed. "Sora, it's Dad. I need your help, son..."
I sit up and rub my eyes, growling when he flips the lights on. "Dad? What's wrong?"
"Riku... was not happy... He decked me in the face and threw something at Leon... he's passed out in my car. Can you help me get him inside?" he asks. I look at him and notice a huge purple bruise across his right eye and cheek.
"Oh my God... Dad, are you okay?!"
He shushes me and nods, "I'm fine... just help me with Leon, please?"
I get out of bed and follow him downstairs, slipping my shoes back on. Leon really does look horrible... "Are you sure he doesn't need to go to the hospital?"
"Riku is eighteen, Sora... he could go to jail for this. He'll be okay, he just needs to rest for awhile."
Knowing that he's right, I help them inside. We lay Leon down in Dad's bed and I get a wet washcloth so Dad can clean him up a little. "Here... he's a mess..."
"Thanks, son... apparently his wife knew this whole time... but Riku... I... you shouldn't expect to remain friends with him, Sora. I'm sorry..."
"Let me call Xion... she may be able to calm him down," I offer, grabbing my phone. I talk to her for a little bit, and she agrees to go talk to him. Later, I receive a text from her that Riku doesn't blame me, and he'll try not to hold this against me.
Dad sighs in relief when I tell him, still taking care of Leon. "I want to marry him one day, Sora... I love him so much..."
"Mm... I wanna marry you too, Cloud..." Leon mumbles, rolling onto his side and snuggling into Dad. Yes, it's incredibly strange to see... but I want my dad to be happy, no matter who it's with. "Love you..."
"I think he'll be okay, Dad. Let me know if you need anything," I tell him, yawning and going back upstairs to bed.
Before I fall asleep, my phone buzzes on my night stand and I look at it.
Hey Sora... it's Kairi. :)
Hey there. :) What's up?
Well, Xion told me what happened... I wanted to make sure you're all okay.
I smile, rolling onto my stomach to talk to her more comfortably. We're fine, thanks. :)
Riku will get over it. He acts tough, but he's a sweet enough guy.
Haha, sweet? He punched my Dad and knocked out Leon!
Yeah... I guess you're right. He's nowhere near as sweet as you! :*)
She's so darling... Aww, thanks cutie.
Hey, Sora...?
Yeah?
There's a long, long pause, and when she answers me, it's broken into about four messages. I know it's a little weird, the way that I've been hanging onto you... I'm sure Namine told you about me... I just want to make sure that you're not just letting me do what I want out of pity. If you want me to stop, I will. But... I really like you, Sora. I've been thinking about you since I first saw you at the island. You're so handsome, and comforting... Anyways, sorry about the long message.
I read through her message ten times before I answer her. Kairi... to be honest, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard! I don't pity you, and I don't care about your illness. Ever since I saw you, I've wanted to know you... if ever love at first sight was real, it was the moment I saw you. I want you to be mine... forever.
My heart is pounding out of my chest when I hit "send," and I freak out for a moment. When she doesn't reply right away, my chest starts to hurt a little from anxiety. Finally, after about 15 minutes, she answers me.
I think I love you, Sora... I know it's silly, and I don't know you very well yet, but... being away from you hurts.
Aww, damn Kairi... you sure know how to make a guy fall hard...
What do you mean?
I mean I love you too, you silly girl! Be mine?
Of course, Sora. :)
I have no idea how any of this happened... I've known her for two days, and I'm already in love with her. I suppose crazier things have happened... considering that in the past two days I've found out that I have a brother and that my dad is gay.
Good... Now, I love you honey, but I really need to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Good night.
G'night, Sora... :) Love you.
Roxas
"Hey, Roxas... do you maybe wanna come over for dinner tonight?" Axel asks me towards the end of the school day.
This surprises me a little, but it does sound fun. "Uhm... sure, Axe. Are your parents going to be okay with that?"
"Oh, I live by myself," he says, like it's not strange at all.
"By yourself...? How is that even possible?" I wonder.
He shrugs. "My parents kicked me out when I turned 18. I got a job, and I rent an apartment down the street."
"Wait, how old are you?"
"Nineteen, why?"
"Are you a senior?"
He stares at me for a long moment. "You didn't know, did you? Jeez, Roxas... you really need to get your head out of the clouds!"
"Sorry... Uhm... yeah, I'll come over if you want."
"Awesome... Meet me outside after your last class."
The rest of the afternoon seems to drag on and on, so when the last bell rings, I nearly leap out of my seat. I hurry to my locker and gather my things, then go outside to wait for Axel. By now, I'm more excited to spend the evening with him than I'm angry at Olette and Hayner. There's a large chance I wouldn't have seen either of them again anyways, so I'm not too bent up over it anymore.
"Come on," I hear behind me. Axel brushes past me and keeps walking, and I stumble to keep up with him. He stops next to a motorcycle and I look up at him. "Yes, it's mine. Here," he tells me, handing me a helmet. I take it and keep staring at him, a little confused. "I'm not going to bite," he tells me, getting on the bike and patting the back seat. "You afraid to hold on to me?"
I climb onto the back and gingerly wrap my arms around his waist, but he just scoffs. "You're gonna fall off if you don't grab me tighter than that, Rox," he tells me, grabbing my arms and tightening them up. I blush a little under my helmet and scoot closer, not wanting to die on the way there. "Now, just try not to throw us off balance and we'll be fine. And remember to keep your feet up."
When he first starts going, I freak out a little. I've never been on a motorcycle before, but it ends up being pretty fun. It reminds me of when I'd ride my skateboard with Hayner... but I don't really want to remember that right now. I sigh in relief when he pulls into his apartment complex and parks. I think I might even be shaking as I pull off the helmet and straighten out my hair.
"See? You're fine," he tells me, and I just grumble at him. "Oh whatever... you loved it."
I swat at his arm and laugh, "Shut up! I mean... I guess it was kinda fun..."
"Told you so!" he teases, unlocking the door to his place. "Well... here it is, home sweet home," he says, flipping the light switch and dropping his book bag on the floor. It's surprisingly clean for a teenager's apartment.
"It's nice," I comment, looking around. It's small, but I guess when you're alone, you don't need much room.
He steps into a room, and I hear something skittering around. Suddenly, a huge dog comes lumbering at me and knocks me flat on my ass. "Janey!" he shouts, trying to pull her off me. "Janey, bad girl! Be nice!"
I sit up, laughing my ass off. I've always loved dogs, and she's just beautiful. "God damn, Axe! You didn't tell me you had a horse!"
"Her name is Janey, and she's a Saint Bernard!" he tells me, loving on her. It's actually really adorable, seeing him break down over her like that. "You need outside? Okay, let's go outside baby," he coos over her, grabbing a huge leash off a hook by the door. I follow them out and watch him play catch with her for awhile, occasionally throwing a stick for her myself. She's very darling.
When we come back inside, she crawls up on the couch and takes a nap, which leaves us with nowhere to really sit but the dining room table.
"I'm sorry about that... she doesn't realize how huge she is," he apologizes, but I just laugh it off.
"She's adorable, Axel. But hey, what are we having for dinner? I didn't really finish my lunch today before I ran off..."
He gets up and looks through his cabinets, then huffs. "Uhm... pizza? Sorry, I overestimated the amount of food I had."
"Sure, I'll chip in ten for it," I say, chuckling a little. "What's good around here, anyways?"
"Why, Italia's, of course! I would know, I spend most of my free time making their pizzas," he comments, grinning. "Don't worry about money. They give me free pizza all the time 'cause I'm an employee."
I laugh harder, "Well I don't wanna make you eat pizza if that's what you always have!"
"Dude, there's no such thing as too much pizza. Seriously, don't worry about it. But you'll have to eat my favorite creation. I came up with it all by myself."
"I think I can suffer through it," I joke, smiling when Janey rolls over onto her back and sprawls out over the entire couch.
He makes a call and orders the pizza, along with some soda. "All right, it'll be here soon. So... wanna watch a movie or something?"
"Uh... sure. But where are we gonna sit?"
"Well... my Playstation 3 is actually hooked up to the T.V. in the bedroom. So... we can sit on my bed."
I swallow hard, but nod slowly. "Okay... uh... what movies do you have?"
"Well... I've got all the Marvel and DC stuff... wanna watch the newest Batman?"
"I actually haven't seen that one! Sure!" I exclaim, smiling. I've been wanting to see it for awhile now.
He motions for me to follow him to his room, and he sets up the movie while I just stand there awkwardly. "You... you can sit down," he says, giving me a funny look.
I sit down on the bed, stacking a couple pillows behind my back for support. He grabs his remote and flips the lights off, sitting down next to me, a little closer than I would've thought.
"Hope you don't mind about the lights... it's hard to see the T.V. with them on. There's a weird glare."
I shrug, trying to seem less freaked out than I am, "That's fine." I have no idea why he makes me so nervous...
"Rox..." I hear suddenly, and I peel open my eyes. "Rox, the pizza's here..."
"Did I... did I fall asleep?" I mumble. "Sorry..."
He just chuckles, "It's fine, Roxas. But it's only been like... twenty minutes. Are you okay?"
"I didn't sleep well last night... finding out about Sora was kind of unsettling."
"I'm sorry to hear that... but you have to let go of my arm so I can answer the door," he says, chuckling. I let go, blushing madly. How long had I been snuggled up to him like that?
He goes to get the pizza and brings it into the bedroom, handing me a Dr. Pepper. "How did you know this is my favorite drink?" I ask him, laughing.
"I didn't," he says, "But it's my favorite too."
He un-pauses the movie and we eat our pizza in silence. When I'm done, I yawn again, even more tired than I had been before. I can feel myself dozing off, and I almost don't feel Axel's arm snake around me.
It might be odd, but I just love being close to him.
Author's Note: Hey there everyone! I don't usually add these in my stories, but I wanted to share my struggle with you guys. I was almost done with this chapter when the page refreshed and even though I'd been saving it regularly, I lost the whole thing. I was discouraged... but I ended up taking it in a whole different direction instead, which I like a lot better anyways!
Let me know what you think, and if I can change anything! I'm really glad you guys seem to like it. :) And if you have any story ideas that you'd like me to try my hand at, I'm more than happy to take commissions or ideas.
Thanks for reading! I'll try to have my next update out soon.