Thank you everyone that has read/reviewed/favorited/alerted!
Not only does it keep me aware that people are still reading, but it reminds me this story exists as well!
I would like to thank rin neko23 and anon for reviewing in the last month or so.

Nada: Contrary to belief, I didn't forget to update. May wasn't a gracious month for me. My boss over worked me for a good two weeks and my only saving grace was to play World of Warcraft and then my brother bought Skyrim, so there went the rest of my May. But now, I can't say I'm back completely, because I'm now in mourning. The despair that swirls within my heart was enough to get this chapter out and it will be enough to complete the rest of the story. However, I need my mind focused. I can't very well focus when my heart is broken, so until I can stop mourning, here's chapter ten.

Warning(s): OOC-ness, Swearing, Flaring Tempers

Chapter Ten

Sleep came easy that night. I lost myself to the tranquil void, enjoying the overwhelming sense of serenity that encircled around me. I don't remember what my dreams were about, or if I had dreamt of anything. All I knew, or could know, was the fact that someone desperately wanted me to wake up.

"Roxas. Roxas!"

"I'll take care of this."

I fell back into peace now that the voices had subsided, but the solace was short lasting. Gravity began to shift and where the comfort of my sheets had been were stripped away to allow the cold air to seep into my flesh. Gravity pulled me to the side in a flash then- "Oof!" I had face full of hard, cold floor. I groaned, already feeling pain envelope around my face.

"That was really mean Cloud." I heard Sora say.

"He'll be late otherwise."

The bleary world refocused itself. I blinked several times until my eyes adjusted to the light and finally sat up on the hard floor, Sora and Cloud watched my every move. It was then I noticed Sora was dressed in the school uniform. I groaned again.

"Don't start with that again," Cloud complained. "You're not ten anymore. Get up and get moving."

Oh yes, like being five years older was any different!

"Well, breakfast is ready downstairs," Sora said in an attempt to ease the tension between the three of us. "Uhm, Cloud said it was your favorite."

My eyes narrowed at the thought and turned accusingly toward my brother. "You poisoned it didn't you?"

Cloud's lips formed a thin line, a gesture he only did when he tried to keep his agitation from showing.

"No," He nearly growled. "I'm saving that poison for Naminé's next boyfriend. Hurry up and get dressed. Leon is taking you guys to school."

-x-X-x-

School, the thought of it made me shiver and my stomach ache. It was less stressful now that Marluxia and Larxene were no longer in school, but the anxiety that surged through my veins warned me things would be different; different because I was used to Sora and our friends being with me. If they weren't there then who else would be?

The drive to school was a short one, it was almost unnecessary really, but Leon was there to keep an eye on us, or more specifically, to keep an eye on me. As if I really needed three people to watch me. Did they really think I would do something irrational the moment they looked away? Would I be stupid enough to take the first moment of freedom I got to my advantage?

I grimaced.

Yes, I was really that stupid.

Leon dropped us off a few yards away from the school the moment we spotted Riku and Kairi on the sidewalk.

"Alright, out of my car. Out. Out."

Naminé laughed and scooted out of the car with me on her heels.

"See you after school, Leon." Sora said, slamming the door behind him. "Tell Rinoa and Tifa I said hi!"

The three of us joined Riku and Kairi, the duo locked in another heated conversation. They ceased talking the moment they spotted us and plastered an awkward smile on their faces. Well, Kairi did. Riku just smirked.

"Its about time you three showed up." the third year began. "The first bell is about to ring."

"We would have been here sooner if Roxas weren't such a slow poke!" Naminé teased. "Where's everyone else?"

"The nurse's office. Hayner needed to give Nurse White something."

We followed the duo into the school grounds, the crowd of students less heavy now that the doors were open. Our lockers were still the same as last years, so we departed for the moment. Sora remained at my side, despite the fact his locker was at the other side of the school. Lucky for him, so was our new homeroom.

"Save me a seat." He said with a smile as he left for his locker, which was across the door to the class.

The moment I entered the classroom, I knew something was wrong. The unease I felt multiplied tenfold at the sight of the students who eyed me from head to toe with clouded emotions. Some of their expressions I could read plain as day. My classmates were disgusted; others completely indifferent but most were sympathetic, as though I were the most pitiful thing they have ever seen. I walked past them, ignoring what I could, but as I approached my friends, I heard the whispers.

"I heard he tried to kill himself over the summer."

"Jeez, what an attention whore."

"That's so sad. Any reason why?"

"It's because he's a fag. Too bad he didn't die."

"He's so selfish! He should think of how Sora feels!"

On and on they went, their whispers growing into a jumbled mess of accusation and lies. My heart raced with sorrow, anger and anxiety, but I did my best to keep the hurricane of emotions from showing on my face. It was harder to keep my mind tame.

What do they know? The voice in my head screamed. They understand nothing of the hell I've been through. They're ignorant little-

"Good morning Roxas," Olette's voice sliced through my raging thoughts like a knife. "How are you?"

Fan-fucking-tastic. My mind spat, but my voice felt constricted. I gave her a shrug instead.

Her expression quickly changed into sympathy, unknowingly worsening my ever increasing rage.

"Well, we saved you and Sora a seat." She gestured to the seats that stood side by side.

Hayner occupied a seat behind one of the empty ones, his brown eyes narrowed angrily at me. Something colorful stole my attention from his gaze and realized it was his cast now decorated in a vast array of colors except for a spot by his wrist. I assumed that space was meant for me.

Beside his desk were Olette's new notebooks for the school year. Kairi sat in the same row as Hayner only a desk ahead of him. She beckoned me to sit behind her, which confused me. I thought she wanted to be as close to Sora as humanly possible?

I glanced over my shoulder and realized why Kairi would be in front of me instead of Sora. Naminé had claimed the seat. Pence's table, I had just noticed, was to the left of mine. He flashed me a laid back smile and just like Kairi, motioned for me to sit in the empty chair beside him.

I was surrounded by my friends on all sides. The thought warmed my heart, but also brought a fresh wave of guilt to mingle with the onslaught of emotions. I brushed the feelings away for another day. Now was not the time or place to deal with it.

Sora's presence snapped me out of my thoughts again. I took the seat behind Kairi, still ignoring the daggers Hayner shot into my back. He kicked my chair to prove a point, but the action earned him a death glare showdown from Naminé, Olette and Sora. He didn't back down.

"You can't stop me from picking on Roxas! He owes me sea-salt ice cream for a month." He turned his heated eyes toward me as though he dared me to challenge him. "Starting tomorrow, you buy me ice cream."

Olette scoffed at the demand. "You'll make yourself sick with all those ice creams."

Hayner stuck his tongue out at her, not at all troubled by the thought.

Kairi shook her head, an amused smile gracing her lips. "I'm going to miss having classes with everyone this semester," she sighed.

She leaned sideways into my desk so that her elbow found a semi comfortable perch. She rested her cheek against her palm; her dazzling red hair flowed down her pale arm like a delicate waterfall of blood… I shook my head slightly from the thought. She watched me from beneath her dark lashes, her violet-blue eyes oddly bright. Or maybe that was the light of the classroom?

"I hear you have first period History with Mr. Thatch again. I have him too."

"I have him last period." Hayner grumbled, clearly annoyed. "I'm going to fall asleep in his class again."

"Not with me you aren't." Olette protested. "And we're going to study for his exams too. You almost failed last year!"

The boy groaned at the thought of studying, which only made Olette lecture him some more. Kairi took the momentary distraction to lean closer to me, her face barely an inch away.

"We need to talk later, okay?" she spoke beside my ear, her voice barely audible over the chaos of the class. I gave her a nod as she pulled away and spun back around in her chair.

I glanced to my right, noticing Sora's curious gaze. I replied with a shrug because really, I have no idea what Kairi wanted to talk about or why she felt the need to tell me we had the same first period class together. At the last sound of the late bell, our homeroom teacher walked in for attendance.

-x-X-x-

The rest of the day went the same as homeroom. Most of my classes were filled with whispers of my exploits over the summer and accusatory glares.

In History II, Mr. Thatch had a hard time keeping everyone's attention on the syllabus as they thought I was the most interesting person in the world. Kairi proved herself as a great distraction thanks to her constant texting even though it was pointless since we sat right next to each other. Anything she had to say, she could have said it there.

It was the same thing in Algebra II. More whispers, more stares and more texts to distract me.

It wasn't until gym came around did the staring finally stop, but I couldn't say the same for the whispers. At least we were spread around the bleachers so that I didn't have to hear what nonsense they came up with. Kairi and I sat on the bleachers together as the rest of our class filed into the gym. I spotted Riku on the other side of the gym looking bored out of his mind. Kairi must have spotted him too because she made an ungraceful snort then laughed.

"Looks like we have the same period gym," she smiled, though it was short lived. "How are you feeling Roxas?" She asked her expression now solemn and distant.

I shrugged, unsure of what to say. Telling her the truth would only irritate her and lying would only make the situation worse. My silence was the only neutral answer I could think of.

But neutrality was not what she wanted.

"Please tell me. I need to know."

"What for? It's not like it matters." The words escaped me before I could stop them.

Kairi stared at me with narrowed eyes. "It does matter. Everything matters. You almost died on that hospital bed." She dropped her voice so that the surrounding students couldn't over hear our conversation. "You have no idea how torn up we were in those days, especially Sora." She sighed heavily, her eyes glassy from the memories. "I've never seen him love someone so much until then." She turned her gaze back to me, her eyes still bright with tears. "Please, don't hurt him anymore. Don't hurt yourself."

"What's with this serious atmosphere?" Riku appeared before us with an eyebrow raised.

Kairi quickly blinked the tears away, her expression now a disgruntled pout.

"Riku! Don't sneak up on us like that!" She cried, slapping him on the arm.

"Why not? You are my girlfriend and Roxas is…" He paused. "No one cares about what Roxas is."

I sent him a death glare, thoroughly annoyed.

Kairi shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We were just talking about unimportant stuff."

"Right." Riku's eyes gave away what he felt. He was unconvinced with Kairi's explanation and troubled with the fact that she had to lie.

I suppressed the sneer that wanted to worm its way onto my lips. Sucks for you, Riku.

-x-X-x-

After gym was lunch with Kairi and Riku. They were the only ones with my same lunch period and for some reason, the thought depressed me. During the transition between classes, I caught sight of Sora and the others. They were laughing about something-most likely at Hayner's expense judging by the embarrassed look on his face. Pence patted him on the back though he couldn't hold back his laughter. Sora had a hard time keeping on his feet, he was laughing so hard. Naminé and Olette giggled behind the boys, their eyes so bright and joyous. They looked like they were having fun, like how a group of teenagers should be doing.

Anger and desire burned its way through my veins for the umpteenth time, but I forced it down with all the will power I could, like I always did.

Riku left to join them in a matter of seconds. He assimilated into the group so quickly it was almost astonishing how easy it was for him to fit in with any group that came his way. He had joined in their laughter the moment Sora spotted him and explained the joke. Now he looked like the rest of them, so carefree and happy; so innocent; so naïve.

Envy wrapped her sharp claws around my heart again.

Kairi's presence fell into view of my peripheral vision and I turned to her, my eyes venomous. She was taken aback by their intensity, but she quickly recovered, her own eyes sharp with determination.

"If it bothers you so much you should say something."

"Oh that's a good idea. Why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah-because it's stupid!" I spat, my fists clenched tight. "What would I say? 'Hey guys, can you stop being happy for once so I don't have to hate you?' Genius, Kairi. Genius."

Her pretty little face screwed up into a frown, her glossy lips slightly pouty. "Sarcastic much?" she huffed. "A simple 'don't be silly' would have sufficed."

I turned away from her, too angry to deal with her crap and too hungry to give a damn. I heard her footsteps fall into step behind me, the rush of wandering students now thin enough to hear the distant chatter of the lunchroom. I glanced over my shoulder to look at her. She playfully stuck out her tongue at me the moment she met my eyes. I looked further behind her, seeing no one else on our trail. It bothered me that Sora didn't notice we were leaving.

-x-X-x-

To say Riku was pissed with our disappearing act was an understatement. He was infuriated that we left him behind and he was even more so when he found us eating lunch together underneath the tree Cloud and his friends used to sit under. The two of us ended up fighting about stupid things and before Kairi knew it, we were about ready to let the fists fly until the lunch bell rang. We departed from the third year for English in a flash-only because Kairi had literally dragged me away.

I pulled my arm out of her grasp the moment we were out of Riku's sight and cried, "I could have taken him on you know! I'm not weak!"

She whipped around, her wine red hair brushing her shoulders like a curtain. She gave me a stern glare; it was the same expression Cloud gave me every day of my life.

"Getting expelled on your first day of school is stupid."

My eyes narrowed. It was that word again. I was really starting to hate it.

She shook her head, already giving up on the argument she knew she couldn't win. She grabbed my right arm again, this time a lot more gently, and pulled me the rest of the way to English.

-x-X-x-

English II was like the rest of my classes: long, irritating and torturous. My patience was dangerously thin; my rage too close to the surface. I couldn't keep my face from showing the fire that ate at me from the inside. Kairi's texting could only keep me occupied for so long. It reached the point where it almost became annoying, having that stupid machine constantly vibrate. And for what? To tell me how boring the class was? To tell me to ignore what everyone was saying behind my back?

I stole a glance at the cell phone still on my lap, Kairi's last message still in view.

did sora text u?

I clenched my jaw. It was another thing I noticed; Sora hadn't bothered to text me at all today. Neither did anyone else. It seemed that only Kairi cared enough to keep in touch even though we were together for most of the day. Hell, even Riku cared enough to text me a threatening message after lunch was over, to which I replied with a nice virtual fuck you.

But what about the rest of them?

Logic tried to reason with me. It's the first day of school. He doesn't want to get in trouble with the teachers. He's just busy.

Busy with what? Having fun with his friends? The rage boiled through my veins at the thought. Oh yes, "busy". Busy. Busy. Busy. Everyone's busy. It's so easy for him to act so oblivious.

I wish I could be like him, so happy, carefree, naive, and open. But no. He's Sora and I'm Roxas. He's like the Sun, so bright, so warm; a bright light in the void of darkness. Too bright, too hot. His gravitational pull is too strong. Everyone is his friend. Everyone.

And then there I am, the moon, a silly little satellite rotating with the Earth. I'm too cold, too distant from the sun. I have no light to brighten the dark. My pull is weak, insubstantial; I have no friends.

He's talented at everything.

I failed at killing myself.

I tore myself away from the dark thoughts, the memories of the last few days of summer crept within the forefront of my mind. Falling off the roof was an accident. I hadn't meant for it to happen, I slipped. I really did, but what did it matter now? Because of it, I lost my freedom. My solitude, my peace, my forks and my knives; I was a four year old again. The medicine cabinet was gone. The silverware was plastic. My cups were plastic. My plates were plastic. My door had no lock. My windows wouldn't open. My roof was inaccessible.

I was trapped in my own home.

I was trapped in my own school.

I was trapped in this life and my only sanctuary from this hell was on the other side of the school, enjoying life without me.

The hypocrite.

I snapped out of my thoughts, uneasy with myself. I wrote a late reply to Kairi's text the moment she spammed me another "are you okay?" text. I watched the message load, my mind suddenly clouded and empty.

I shouldn't have called him a hypocrite.

-x-X-x-

Kairi left my side for the first time since the day started for her double food period with Pence. Her absence brought a twinge of sadness into me, but the anger that kept me company since lunch and the new bout of paranoia from English served as companions for the time being. I was the first to arrive to Anatomy and picked the lab table closest to the door. A quick exit was what I really wanted.

A few seconds into the transition, Sora finally made his appearance, followed by an annoyed looking third year. I had to raise an eyebrow in surprise. Since when did Riku have to take Anatomy?

"She's doing this on purpose, I know it," the silveret complained. They stood just outside of the doorway, allowing the flow of classmates to pass them by as they conversed. They had yet to see me. "She deliberately ignored all my texts and when I asked Roxas if she was ignoring me, he cursed me out."

The brunet chuckled at the thought. "He would only curse you out if you started it."

"That's irrelevant." Riku scowled, his eyes portraying the guilt he felt for being caught. "My point is: it's only the first day of school and she's already too close to Roxas for my liking. It's bad enough they have most of their classes together-"

"Huh? They do? I thought they just had History and Gym together?"

Riku snorted, muttering something that sounded like "I wish" under his breath. "Kairi said during Gym that she's with Roxas throughout the day except for seventh and eighth period." Riku finally turned to the classroom, the rest of the discussion now lost the moment he caught me watching them with dull eyes.

"Fuck," I heard him murmur. Sora looked just as guilty as he felt. "How much of that did you hear?"

I gave them an impassive shrug, though I couldn't hide the displeasure I felt from showing in my eyes. Sora tried to assuage the tension with a bright, irresistible smile. He took the empty seat right next to mine-Riku sat across from him-and asked me how my day had been so far. I gave him a terribly sarcastic smile.

"It's been really great, just fanfuckingtastic, you know? Everybody knows me this year! Isn't that great? It's just totally fucking awesome!" I snarled, slamming my fist on top of the lab table in a moment of rage."But don't worry about me; Kairi did a great job babysitting. I guess it's your turn now, huh? So tell me Sor, how was your day?"

Sora's cheery smile fell off his face faster than I could blink throughout my passive-aggressive rant. The sudden quickness brought forth another wave of guilt and shame for my collection of negative emotions. His blue eyes quickly swam with worry, the light of carefree joy extinguished for the day.

There it was again, that wretched face; the face he seemed to have preserved for me; the face that didn't exist last summer.

The face I gave to him.

Sympathy, worry, fear and sadness all meshed into one beautiful face.

Just kill me now.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking away from the both of them. "I shouldn't take out my anger on you."

Riku snorted. "But it's fine if you pick a fight with me?"

"Riku-" Sora tried, but I interjected with a retort of my own. "It's not my fault you deserve to be punched every once in a while."

The third year's green eyes narrowed threateningly. The muscles in his body tensed as though he were ready for a fight to break out right here and now. It was Lunch time all over again, except now it was Sora who was about to witness what half a day's worth of pent of aggression looked like.

Before any of us got the chance to do anything, the late bell had wrung and along with it came our science teacher for the year. Riku settled back in his stool, content to save our fight for another day.

-x-X-x-

Anatomy went on in silence with the occasional glance and whispers from the surrounding students. Sora tried to keep the peace between us; he kept the conversation away from the topic he wanted the most to speak about, for my sake I guess.

Because Anatomy was a double period, we were actually given labs to work on during the second half of class. It was pretty basic work, not that I minded. It mostly involved asking questions on what we knew about the human body and what we were looking forward to the most about the class. Afterwards, we spent the last five minutes of class coloring the body parts we knew.

Before I knew it, class was over, along with school for another day. We packed up what little we had from our lockers and regrouped just outside the school.

"Tomorrow is Friday, what are we doing after school?" Pence asked the moment we were all together.

"Roxas owes me ice cream," Hayner stated as a reminder. He turned his sharp eyes in my direction. "Don't forget."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him away, still not in the mood for any social interaction, let alone talk about the apology ice cream deal Hayner was so insistent on doing.

Kairi suddenly sighed. "Still moody I see." She placed her hands on her hips, ignoring the suspicious stare Riku gave her. "Honestly, what's so hard with saying what's on your mind?"

Everything. My thoughts answered, yet my only reply to her was an aggravated eye roll. She mimicked my same gesture, obviously annoyed with my attitude. The air between us oddly thickened and I wasn't sure why. Kairi didn't seem to notice it. In fact, she appeared to be quite enthralled with our little exchange. Everyone else, on the other hand was a different story.

Hayner seemed uncomfortable. He had somehow drifted back to Olette's side, his attention focused on the students that exited the school. Pence looked more disappointed than uncomfortable. Actually, he looked quite annoyed if it were possible.

Olette and Naminé appeared to be angry, just like Riku and-

I did a double take.

Is Sora angry?

Granted it wasn't impossible just…rare. And yet, here we stood, under the bright shine of twilight, all eyes bearing daggers in Kairi's and my direction as though the two of us were committing crimes against humanity. Sora's blue eyes were angry, maybe not entirely angry, it was more like annoyance? Something was bothering him, but what specifically? HIs eyes weren't focused on me per say, they were focused on Kairi. It was then I realized everyone had their eyes on her too.

"Oh, my mom is here. I'll see you tomorrow." Kairi gently touched the bandages on my left arm as a form of goodbye. She bid the other's farewell, barely noticing the tension that radiated from them and hurried to her mother's car. The moment she was gone, Olette and Naminé approached me.

"What was all that about, onii-chan?"

"I can't believe she would do something like that again." Olette complained, her green eyes focused on the distant car.

"I feel sorry for you two." Hayner said to Sora and Riku.

Riku gave the blonde a dangerous stare, which made him retreat behind Pence for protection. Sora released a sigh that boarded on frustration and exhaustion.

Leon's car came into view before the rest of us could carry on the topic. Naminé climbed into the passenger seat, happily greeting Leon and waving the others goodbye. Sora slid into the seat beside me, his annoyance still radiating off his body.

"We have to talk later," he murmured once the door was closed and Leon was thoroughly distracted with Naminé's tale of the first day of school.

Yep, definitely angry.

"If it's about what happened in Anatomy-"

"Later, Roxas," he practically commanded.

I felt my eyes grow wide in shock, though he avoided my gaze entirely and felt content in staring out the window.

Did Sora just give me attitude?

Against my will, my jaw clenched shut, preventing my own temper from clashing with Sora's. We sat in silence the rest of the ride home, neither one of us daring to glance at the other.

Nada: I'm sorry for the impromptu cut off. I originally wanted to end the chapter with the day, but recent events I already explained prevented me from doing so and too much time had past for me to remember exactly where I wanted to end it. I thought this was a good cut off as any, especially considering how long it's been since I updated. It might take me a while to update again, or perhaps it won't. It really depends how quickly I can bounce back from my mourning.