A/N:Heya folks! Won't keep ya long with my boring speech, here's the next chapto!
Disclaimer:I do not own Kingdom Hearts, but I do have the right to write about them in anyway I want ^^ I also do not own the song Pain by Jimmy Eat World
Axel's POV
Okay. Did what I think just happen, actually happen? This is Roxy were talking about. Aloof. Cool. Collected. A little edgy at times. The man who declared he'd break hearts if anyone ever fell for him. But he did not seem very collected just then. He seemed…absolutely flustered. His cheeks were burning with blush the entire time. And speaking of, what had he been doing there? Granted, that is his hangout spot, but why didn't he wake me up? I was going to surprise him but ended up falling asleep. Again. God, I hate mornings.
But this morning…this morning was a treat. Now, I'm not trying to jump the gun here, but I think Roxy may just have feelings for me. Yes, this is probably my own self-delusion, or rather, my desired outcome, but I really think something more is developing between us. Well, I guess I can think about it more during class. Second period should be over soo-
"Axel!"
I jump at the sound of my name and quickly look up to see Marluxia, standing at the top of the stairs of the fire escape. "Hey Marly. What's up?" I ask. How had he known I was here?
"What's up dear, is you and your new love," he says, strutting down the steps toward me. When he reaches the bottom he takes a seat near me, pulls the cigarette out of my mouth and stomps it out.
"Thanks. I was all done with that," I say sarcastically.
"Oh shut it. You know those things give me a headache. Why do you even smoke them?"
I ponder this for a moment. "To look cool?"
"Well, at least you're honest," Marly sighs. But his displeasure with my nicotine addiction soon dissipates at his overwhelming excitement. "So? Who was Mr. Cute and Blonde I saw you with at the mall?"
"Um, I think Leon would be jealous if he heard you calling Cloud cute. I think said Cloud would punch you in the arm before the word 'cute' left your mouth."
Marluxia doesn't respond. Seems he doesn't find my humor quite as enjoyable as I do. How should I go about this? "He's my friend?"
"Oooh, you've been friend-zoned already, darling?"
"No! I haven't even asked him out yet!" I yell.
"So you do like him!" Marluxia says with a triumphant grin.
Damn, he got me. "Well…yeah. I think I might actually…be in love with him."
"Are you so sure about that dear?" Marluxia questions. I thought he was teasing again, but his face is serious.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, love is a very heavy word. Our generation flings it around like greetings, but it is a concept that takes time to understand, and even develop."
"I know what I'm feeling, Marly. It may have started out as lust, and yeah, some of it is still lust, but I know I love him."
"I'm just trying to make sure. I don't want to see you get hurt," he says with a concerned smile.
"You know, I think I had this same exact conversation with Demyx before," I comment.
Marluxia laughs. "Yeah, well, I'm sure my advice is a lot more helpful."
"You got that right," I chuckle. "I mean, he was just all, 'you can't fall in love with him, be careful, what happens in X-'" I immediately stop. I cannot believe I was about to say that.
"What happens in what now?" Marluxia asks. Damn, I screwed the pooch on this one. Maybe I can evade it.
"What happens between me and Roxas needs to stay away from Larxene's sharp ears. You know how she is," I say off the fly.
"Oh darling, do I. I would have won the bet of when Demy and Zexi were going to hook up if Larxy hadn't interfered," Marluxia complains. My distraction worked! Score one for the Ax man!
"Well, at least I'm still in the running. You doomed yourself because you forgot to add in unknown exterior factors," I explain.
"Love isn't an equation, darling."
"Yeah, but money sure is," I retort. We laugh over that, then chat for a while about our crazy friends. The bell sounds for class and I don't make any move to get up. Leaving now would mean I would get there on time, and that would ensue that I actually cared about whatever class I'm supposed to be heading to.
"So. When are you going to make your move on Blondie Birdie?"
"When the pest have flown the nest, I'll give it my best," I say.
"And where did you get that from?"
"A movie I saw a few nights ago. Anyway, the late bells gonna ring soon, so I guess I should start getting ready to go."
"Right. I forgot, you like to stroll in late," Marluxia says while rolling his eyes.
"That's me. But not you, so why are you still here?" He holds up his schedule in front of me. 'Study Hall'. Ah. "And why do you keep your schedule in your pocket?"
"Just in case I need to fit in a meeting with one of my boy-toy's. Why, you too cool to keep it anywhere else but your bag?" Marly teases.
"Nah, I lost that thing a long time ago," I confess. I had no clue where I put it after I walked out of homeroom that day. We made our way inside and separated just as the late bell rung. What was my next class again? Ah right, art. I walk over to my class and go inside.
"Hello Mr. Axel. How are we today?" Mr. Abbadelli asks in a soft voice. This teacher never yelled, or got upset about anything. Which is why he never complains when I walk in late.
"Hey Mr. A. It's all good," I say. He smiles. I sit down at my easel and relax as Mr. A quiets the class.
"Okay my students, I have a real good treat for you today. I convinced one of my fellow colleagues to lend us some volunteers for the period." Murmurs erupted from the class, and Mr. A chuckled. "That's right, we'll have our very own out-of-class models today!" That sounded good. Whenever we did in-class-models, I was always chosen for some reason. Mr. A said it was because of my wonderfully exotic appearance. But the way some of my classmates drew me was downright terrifying. "Come in, my lovely models!"
He opens the door and a group of students walked in. They're all fairly good looking, and I recognize most of them from the honors department. My teacher separates us into groups and distributes one model to each. We all move our desk around in multiple circles with a stool in the middle for the model to sit on.
"Sorry I'm late Mr. Abbadelli!" calls a student rushing in the classroom. It was almost like we'd always meet this way, and every time, I'd recognize his voice before I even see him emerge.
"No problem, Mr. Roxas. I'm sure your teacher had you completing some last minute task. You may join the group in the back, Ms. Kairi's group. Ms. Kairi, please raise your hand for our model to see?"
Kairi, whose hair was a burgundy color, and was also my chatting buddy during this class, raises her thin arm up in the air. Roxas dodges between seats and easels to get to the back. Once he reaches us, our eyes lock. So, you finally notice I'm here. He looks at me with a blank face before slightly nodding his head.
"Hey."
"Hey again," I greet back. He doesn't say another word, just sits down on the chair positioned in the middle. He's turned so I see most of his back. Darn. I guess he didn't want to look me in the face. And I thought we were on better terms. I guess I teased him a bit much this morning.
"Hey Roxas," says Kairi as she sets up her stuff.
"Hi Kairi. What's up?" he asks. What the? They continue to have an extensive conversation during the period while he pointedly ignores me. Kairi says something that makes Roxas laugh.
"I can't draw you if you keep moving," I say. He turns his head to look at me. He mumbles a sorry before turning back and sitting as still as a statue. Darn, I hadn't meant to say it like that. His unexpected closeness and openness with Kairi was pissing me off a little.
"Axel, it was my fault, I'm sorry. Me and Roxas don't get much time to see each other at school, and it's been forever since I've been over his place to hang out. We were just catching up," she says, trying to make me feel better.
Emphasis on the "trying". How was knowing that she had a closer relationship with Roxas than I had supposed to make me feel better? And the fact that she had been over his house?!
"It's fine," I mutter. We go the rest of the period in an awkward silence. I look around and see two other people drawing Roxas as well. Huh. I hadn't even realized they were in this group.
"Alright my students and models, time. Pack up your supplies and leave your sketchbooks on my table before exiting," Mr. A says. "And thank our models, they took the class time to be here today. Alright then, class dismissed."
I shove my things in my bag and sling it over my shoulder. Wow. My favorite period just became the worst. This days going down the toilet.
I stalk over to the door but turn back before exiting and I see Kairi giving Roxas a hug and saying goodbye. My anger is on the rise again. Who am I kidding, this is so jealousy. She trots out the door, squeezing by me as how I'm standing in half the doorway. Roxas picks his bag up and starts to walk to the door. He stops when he sees me standing there. We stare at each other for what seems like forever until I decide to stop being a jerk.
"Hey," I manage to say.
"Hey. Again," he responds, causing me to smirk.
"Mind if I walk you to your next class?" This may be pushing it, but I really want to talk to him. Especially about what just happened.
He doesn't answer for a solid ten seconds. I almost give up, but he finally agrees. Score TWO for the Ax man!
He tells me that he has government next, so we start walking over there. I'm not saying anything and he's not saying anything. I'm tired of all this awkwardness so I just go for it. "Are you mad at me?"
He glances over then goes back to looking in front of him. "I don't know, you tell me." Ouch. Okay, I deserved that.
"I'm sorry. I was acting like a prick this morning."
"I'm sorry, are you talking about just now? Or earlier this morning too?" he says snidely while side-stepping a student walking by.
"Hey, this morning I was just teasing you. And just now…yeah, no excuse."
"I wasn't asking for an excuse. I'm asking for a reason." He looks me in the eyes for a few before turning away again. God, he needs to stop looking at me with those eyes. It feels like he can read me like a book! But, then again, if he doesn't know why I'm upset right now, I guess he can't read it that well.
"A reason, huh? Well…I'm possessive. You pegged me before."
"I don't think I understand," he says. We're nearing his classroom so I talk quickly.
"Look. I can't explain it all right now. But I want to, so, is there a way we can meet up after school or something? Let's say…your place?" Yes, okay? I'm petty. I want to see Roxas' house too.
"What?" He looks at me like I'm crazy. Okay, time to backtrack.
"Well, how about my place then?" I offer.
"Wait, wait, wait," he blubbers. "Why do I need to come over? Why can't you just tell me now? Or later?"
The bell rings just as we arrive at the door. "Oh, look at the time. I don't want you to be late. So, I'll meet you after you-know-what? Back steps?" I turn and start walking away backwards.
"What? I haven't agreed to anything yet!"
"Don't be late!" With the last word, I run off. I make it to my class in four minutes. The teacher glares at me as I shuffle to my seat. I wasn't even that late this time!
My heart is pumping pretty hard right now. I'm going to blame the run. The thoughts flying through my head right now are not very optimistic. What if he doesn't show up? What if he's even madder at me right now? What if he never wants to speak to me ever again? WHAT THEN?
Okay brain. Kindly shut the hell up now. You're just psyching yourself out for no reason, Ax. If he really hated you, he wouldn't have let you walk him to his class. There must be something about yourself that he likes enough to still give you a chance. Don't know which it is, but you have many redeeming qualities.
Something hard bumps into my shoulder. I look and see students walking out of the room. Class was over already? Where had the period gone? Welp, I'm not complaining.
I grab my bag (that was sitting on the floor. Wow, I didn't even take my books out) and start to head out of the class. Before I reach the door though, the teacher calls me back.
"Yes?" I say in a bored voice.
"You forgot this," she says, handing me a detention slip. Is she serious? "You should be happy I'm not writing you up for showing up late every day."
I sigh dramatically and stomp out the room. I swear, teachers need to get a life if all they have to fill the void is write out detention slips. During my precious lunch period. That I had right now. I sigh again.
I stop by my locker first to put my books away. I didn't even use them.
"Yo, Ax!" I hear Demyx call from down the hall. He stops at his locker next to mine. "What's up, man?"
"Detention. That's what's up," I say dead-pan.
He chuckles. "Again man? You realize that today is…well, you know. How are you going to go if you have detention?"
"Oh trust me, I'll be there. It's lunch detention, not after-school," I explain.
"Suuuucks, you're not gonna be in lunch?" He pouts, but there's nothing I can do.
"Yeah. Tell the others for me, 'kay?"
"Sure thing." We bump fist and part. On my way to the office, I pass by Roxas who's walking with his brother. Many people in the hall stare at them in awe as they walk by. They can really draw a crowd. Sora waves at some people while Roxas just continues to walk, ignoring the people trying to grab his attention.
"Roxas!" His head snaps up. I'm kind of surprised and pleased seeing as many people in the hall were calling him. He sees me and his eyes widen. "Remember! Later today!"
"I never agreed to that!" he yelled back. But I noticed he wasn't saying no. Could he be considering it?
When I go into the detention office, I hand my slip to the lady at the desk and go to the couches. I can already see someone sitting there.
"Sup Lynch? Fancy meeting you here," Yuffie says from her lax position on the couch.
"Nothing much. It's been a while since we've been here at the same time, huh?" I take a seat next to her. We chat for a minute on how we both ended up here.
"So? Any progress with Roxas?" she asks non-chalant.
I look around for a second to make sure no one's listening in, and answer as best I can. "I guess you could say that? I'm trying to get him to come over my house today, but he's being slightly resistant."
"He said no?"
"No." I smile at that.
"He said yes?"
And just as quickly, my smile is gone. "…no," I admit.
"So he's being an idiot then. I'll talk to him," she says calmly. How had she come to that conclusion?
"No, you don't have to do-"
"If I don't interfere, neither of you are going to get anywhere. And I love mediating things, it's so entertaining." She grins at me, and I can't tell if it's sweet or evil.
"Do I even have a choice?"
"Nope." She pops her 'p' and laughs. "Me meddling will be your half the payment for this favor. I'll cash the rest in when I succeed."
"What exactly do you want me to do?" I sigh.
"I'll let you know later. Come on." She grabs my hand and drags me up from the couch. I look at her surprised and start to protest but she tells me to shut it. Yuffie is really fierce. She seems like someone who always gets her way, or convinces people to go with her flow.
"Hey," she says to the desk lady. "My man Lynch here is missing his lunch period because of detention. Technically, you're not allowed to deny students food, so he's obligated to go and get lunch." The woman looked ready to say something, but Yuffie trudged on. "Don't worry, I'll go with him to make sure he comes back. And I have never run away before, you should know that Miss."
She looked back and forth from us for a few seconds before sighing. "Alright. Ten minutes."
"Gotcha!" she cheers, and we leave, just like that. She's even better at this than I thought. As soon as the door shuts behind us, she dashes off down the hall. I run after her, trying to keep up. She's fast! After a while we end up in the honors hall. She stops at a door. "Go stand around the corner. Don't say a peep, and don't come out until I say so." I follow orders and go stand just behind the wall. I hear three curt knocks before an opening of a door. "Excuse me! I was asked by the AP of the math department to retrieve Roxas Stryker for a few minutes to relay a message!" Why was she speaking so loudly? Then again, she kinda always did. There was some shuffling, and then the door shut.
"What do you want, Yuffie? I know damn well the AP didn't ask you to do anything." I heard his voice. It was Roxas. She was going to do this now?!
"Well, that part was a lie. But I do need to talk to you for a sec. So I hear Lynch asked you over to his place? Why haven't you said yes?"
I nearly choke on my spit. She's quick to the punch…
"H-h-how do you know about that?!" he sputters. I want to peek over, but I know if Yuffie spots me, she'll be angry. She might even say something crazy to him.
"I have my ways. Just go, I know you want to," she says plainly.
"Who says I want to?" he asks incredulously. I can't tell from his voice if he's actually angry or just flustered.
"Don't mess with me, Roxas. Look, to spare you the embarrassment, let me put it this way. Whether you go or not, is up to you, ultimately. But wouldn't it just be better if you did? It's obvious you like spending time with him-"
"How is it obvious?"
"-from the way you're always ditching us to hang with Lynch instead. Shut up, let me finish. And even if you don't like it? You now have the perfect opportunity to tell him so. And I'm pretty sure he invited you over to tell you something too, so you at least should have the decency to hear him out." There's silence for a few moments. "And, if he pisses you off, you can punch him in the face. You won't be on school property this time, Mr. Honors Student, but behind the closed doors of Mr. Lynch's abode." Is she serious? She's going to convince him by telling him to beat me up?
A few more moments of silence. Oh please let this work. I don't care if he socks me in the face or not, I just want to be with him!
"Hmph. Fine, have it your way," he says. I silently cheer to myself. Score THREE for the Ax man! With the help of a beloved new friend, Yuffie!
"No, it's your way, if you know what I mean. Well, I gotta get back to detention," she cheers.
"Why am I not surprised."
"See you in X!" she whispers. Well, her whisper is just a normal speaking level. I hear the door shut and Yuffie pops up in front of me.
"Mission accomplished," she whistles proudly.
"Thank you so much Yuffie, you don't even know. I would have resorted to begging, if need be."
"Oh please," she scoffed. "I would never beg. You two love birds make me sick."
With that, we return to detention (and no, I did not get to eat lunch but it was so worth it) and I go the rest of the day in a euphoric pleasure. Demyx looks at me and asks if I'm high while we secretly head over to X after-school. When we reach the door he digs around in his pocket for his key. But I take the black pouch from my back pocket and take out my own. While I'm opening the door, Demyx stares at me.
"When and where did you get a key from?" he asks me.
"I got it from Roxas this morning." I move my hand to lift up his chin which had dropped open when I told him. We walk down the corridor, and we enter the room that was packed, as always. I thought we would have gotten there at least a little early, but True Light's Eclipse' fans did not play around. We squeezed to the front, ignoring the curses and shouts. Demyx grabbed his glow stick and started cheering. They came on a moment later. Roxas had on a black jacket pulled up at the sleeves I hadn't seen on him earlier. It was doing wonders on him. Sora had on the same outfit, except the sleeves were long on his arms. It gave his strumming a muted effect so the bass sounded more prominent.
I don't feel the way I've ever felt
I know
I'm gonna smile and not get worried
I try but it shows
Anyone can make what I have built
And better now
Anyone can find the same white pills
It takes my pain away
The other band members sing along for the chorus. The crowd cheers louder, but I can't hear them. My eyes are once again locked onto Roxas. He sings strongly into the mike and stares straight out into the crowd. I look at his eyes again. I love really do love them. I really do love him. My heart is beating as hard, if even harder than it was exactly one week ago. I'm falling in love with him all over again.
The song ended and everyone screamed. I just wanted to hop onto the stage and carry him off. I had to tell him. I needed to tell him. This game of cat and mouse had gone on for long enough.
Before I had the chance to make any move, Yuf- I mean, Crisis gets up from her drums and struts over to where Roxas is standing. She snatches the mike from his hand. "Hey ya'll. We're gonna end early tonight. Thanks for all your support and True Light's Eclipse will be waiting for the next obscuration, all that jazz!" She put the mic back in the stand and dragged a very surprised Roxas and a very confused band backstage.
It took a minute for the fans to react, but soon they were all screaming, and this time, not as cheery as before. We waited for a few minutes seeing if they would come back out. I was stuck in my own thoughts though. Could she have…?
"Oh man, suuuucks!" Demyx groaned. "Come on man, it looks like that's it for tonight. Tch, I'm so upset. I denied a date with my darling Zexy to see this show and it was cut short! I want my money back!"
"Demy. Stop yelling at them, they're not even there anymore, and even if they were, I don't think they'd appreciate being yelled at. I'm sure they have something planned tonight, I mean, they have lives too," I tell him. He nods along after a second, understanding where I'm coming from. We push through some of the angry fans that still remain and make our way through the side exit. When we get out, Demyx starts walking toward the street. "So uh, I'll see you tomorrow," I say quickly then turn away to run, but Demy grabs me by my shoulder before I can bolt.
"Hold up, where are you going?" he asks me.
"Um, just meeting up with a pal of mine. I'll text you later, 'kay?" He gives me a look. I stare at him back. He takes the bait. What is this, score four for the Ax man? I'm good!
"Alright fine. See you later." He continues going about his way, and Axel makes a mad dash to the back steps. She couldn't have…he couldn't be…
Yet there he is, in all his 5 foot 4 inch cuteness.
He's sitting on the top step leaning back on his hands and looking up into the sky. His black jacket is gone, replaced with the familiar red one from this morning. I smile to myself. I wonder why he's wearing that?
"Roxas," I greet as I approach him.
He looks down and pulls out his earphones. "Axel."
"Seeing as how you're here, am I safe to assume you have agreed to accompany me home this fine evening?"
"…yes." I smile. "But don't always assume you'll get your way!" he grunted, grabbing his bag and skipping down the steps.
I'm sorry Roxas, but nothing you say right now could ruin my good mood.
He looks up at me as we walk to the parking lot. "Why do you have that goofy grin on your face?"
"Because you make me happy?" I tell the truth.
"Hmph." He turns away, but I swear I can see a little smile of his own gracing that wonderful face of his.
Whose lookin forward to Roxas at Axel's house? Get ready for some fun times and the start of a lemon! Does anyone hav a preference for whose point of veiw the next chap should be told from? I'm not sure which I wanna do, but, I could do either. Thank you to all who read, continue to read, and/or review!