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Fourteen

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"Hey Rox! It's been awhile," Ventus emerged from the kitchen as I headed into the Cafe.

"I know... sorry I fell off the face of the Earth," I told him, sitting down at a table and sighing heavily.

He eyed me carefully, "Are you okay? You kind of look like hell."

"I have to break up with Luxord..." I mumbled, trying not to say it too loud and have a rumor hit him first.

"What?! Why?!" he sat down across from me with a look of concern on his face.

I shot him a glare, "Hush! I don't need the whole town to know!"

"Sorry... Well then, why? I thought things were going well."

"There might be someone else," I whispered, my cheeks flushing red.

He raised an eyebrow, "Like... someone from out of town?"

"No..."

"So who then? Wait, are you bisexual? Are you with a girl now?" he asked, his eyes darting around the room.

I chuckled, "No, you dork. I'm gay. Definitely not into women at all."

"Wait... but then who is this other person? Is it Demyx? I always thought something might be up with him..."

"It's not Demyx."

He thought for a long, long time. "...Xigbar?"

"Ew!" I exclaimed a little too loudly, "Jesus, Ventus... No, it's not him!"

"I give up," he huffed, sitting back in his chair, "Who is this mystery guy?"

I really didn't know how to tell him that I was starting to like Axel. I'm pretty sure he hated Axel as much as everyone else in the town. "It's uhm... my neighbor..."

"Hayner?!" he screeched, "Holy shit! What about Olette?!"

"Other neighbor, Sherlock..."

The look on his face was a mixture of disgust and intrigue, "You don't mean... Axel? Really?"

"I know. I know that everyone hates him. I know he's been a jerk to me and everyone else. But... he's really not a bad guy. We kinda bonded over the past week and I think I might really like him..."

"Just like you really liked Luxord?" he pointed out.

I grumbled, "I've seen another side of Luxord that I didn't particularly enjoy. And things with Axel are different. They don't feel ...forced. It's kind of just something that happened naturally."

"I seriously don't get it. But whatever... Just be careful with Luxord. He's got a bit of an anger problem."

"Didn't think to tell me that before?" I laughed, though I was starting to get really nervous about talking to him.

He shrugged, "Didn't think it would be a problem. But if you leave him for Axel, he is sooo not going to be happy."

"Am I totally insane?"

"Yes, but that's why we all love you," he teased, standing up, "I gotta get back in the kitchen. Good luck though!"

"Bring me a grilled cheese?!" I yelled after him, glancing over at the clock. Luxord was supposed to meet me in five minutes and I was becoming increasingly nervous as time went on.

When the door opened and Luxord walked in I felt my stomach tie up in a knot. He looked especially handsome today, like he'd gotten all primped for our lunch date. He was even trying a new pompadour hairstyle rather than his usual buzz cut. Why was he making this more difficult?!

"Roxas!" his face lit up when he saw me and he leaned down to give me a kiss before sitting across from me.

I forced a smile, "Hey. I like the new haircut."

"Really? I was a bit nervous to let the top grow out, but I think it looks okay. Did you order yet?"

"Sort of. Depends if Ventus heard my cry for a grilled cheese," I shrugged, "I'm sure Aqua will be by any moment."

He chuckled and motioned over at the table she was lingering at, which just happened to be Terra's, "I think someone else has her attention."

"Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something..." I mumbled, my heart beating erratically.

"What's up?"

I chewed on my bottom lip nervously, "So... do you remember how Axel kissed me that one day...?"

"I remember decking him in the jaw for it," he grumbled, "Why?"

"Well... Here's the thing... It kind of happened again," I swallowed hard, flinching a little as I forced myself to look at him, "Please don't be mad!"

He was grinding his teeth together, his jaw taut with anger, "I thought it didn't mean anything to either of you..."

"It didn't! ...But then it did. We've been hanging out a lot and he's actually not a bad guy, he's just seriously misunderstood and I might be maybe developing feelings for him..." I rambled on and on.

"Roxas, what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

I sank down in my chair, "I think we need to break up..."

I couldn't bring myself to look up at him, but he was really quiet for a long time. "You're leaving me ...for him?"

"No, not exactly... I'm leaving you because... Well, I need space to explore this with him. I don't know if I'm going to date him or what's going to happen. But I don't want to be leading you on in the meantime."

"I can't fucking believe this. For once in my God damned life, I was finally happy. And you're going to end it all for some fucking sociopath that doesn't even know how to act like a human being?!"

He was getting a little loud and people were starting to stare, "Luxord, please... calm down..."

I jumped as he slammed his fist down on the table, "No, damn it! I'm not going to calm down! This is bullshit, Roxas! Did you ever even like me? Or did you just settle for me because I'm the only other gay guy in town?"

"N..no... Luxord, I like you... I just..." I couldn't even find the words to explain myself. I felt horrible for doing this to him.

"Is there a problem here?"

My eyes immediately shot to the familiar voice coming from behind Luxord. "Axel? What're you doing here?"

"I had a feeling you might need me," he shot a glare at Luxord, who immediately stood up to challenge him. "Don't go getting any ideas, bigshot. I'm not gonna go down without a fight this time."

"I don't remember you being welcome here, asshole. Or welcome anywhere, for that matter," Luxord bit, eyeing him up and down. Somehow Axel was even taller than Luxord, though I wasn't sure how that could have been possible.

Axel just smirked, "Feeling a little butthurt, Luxord?"

"Ohhhhkay..." I stood up and got between the two of them before anything could go down, "I'm sorry, Luxord, but I stand by my decision. We can't be together anymore."

"I can't believe you're seriously doing this to me! What the hell could you possibly see in him?!"

"Much more than I currently see in you," I mumbled, "C'mon Axel... We should go."

Luxord shut up at my comment, standing there in shock as we walked out of the cafe. I hadn't wanted things to go that way, but he was the one who freaked out.

"Why did you come to the cafe, Axel?" I asked him as we headed back down the path home.

He shrugged, "You told me you were talking to him today and I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt."

"So... You knew about his anger issues as well?"

"Yes, enough to know that this won't be the last we hear about it from him. You need to watch yourself, Rox."

I stared down at the path, "Well shit..."

"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you," he told me, glancing over at me with a soft smile. "And neither will Charlie. I opened up the dog door again so he can come see you when he wants."

"No more 'stay away from my dog' nonsense?" I laughed, kind of glad that I'd have Charlie occasionally. I'd been thinking a lot about getting my own dog lately.

He rolled his eyes sarcastically, "Okay so maybe I overreacted a little. But he's never taken to someone like he has to you before and I might have been a little jealous..."

"Axel, he obviously adores you. You're his person! You'll always be his number one."

"Well I know that now!" he poked me in the side playfully (my good one, that is.)

I moved to swat his hand away, but he shocked me completely by tangling his fingers with mine and just holding my hand. And he just kept walking like it was nothing.

"So... did you maybe want to come over tonight and watch a movie or something?" I wondered, glancing up at him.

"I wanna watch this Game of Thrones show you've been squawking about on the phone every night," he grinned, "But only if Charlie can come too."

I pretended to actually think about it, "Well I dunno..."

"I'll be over at six with some taffy and popcorn," he told me, parting ways as we reached his house. "I just have some chores to finish up."

"Sounds good."

...

A/N: Ooh, bitch... They're starting a series together! That's some instense shit right there. Luxord is definitely a little butthurt... And he's definitely not done being an asshole about it either.

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Until next time!

Simply Rexene