.:Chapter 11:.


Leaning on his hands, Roxas looked at Axel, thinking he was being too serious, or at least compared to his usual behavior.  Surely, something was wrong.  No spacing-out, no (bad) jokes, no comments…only homework.  This just couldn't be Axel.

      "I'm done!" He said, grinning as he snapped his book shut.

      "What? Already!?  But…I thought it'd take you…"

      "Hey, why are you complaining? We can just relax now and take it easy!" He said, still grinning.

      "I-I wasn't complaining!" Roxas stammered. "I j-just thought it would take you more time…"

      "Oh well.  So, what you wanna do now? Sora and Riku are waiting for us later. So we have some time for us!"  

      <Humph…Must be why he was concentrating so much…> Roxas thought as a smile slowly and uncontrollably tugged at his lips.  

      "What about getting some food at the shop not too far from here? I definitely need sugar…" He said, glaring at his homework with aversion.

      "Alright.  I'll put my things in my locker; let's catch up at the front door."  

      Axel nodded, and so the blonde got up and walked out of the library. While he strolled in the lonely corridors, he wondered why he had been this thoughtful today. Besides, his thoughts were now making him feel completely lost. Why were they invading his head like this? And where did they come from!? They were making him feel pretty strange…plus, he was finding that being with Axel all the time was making him blush more easily.  So, most of his troubled thoughts were occupied with his red-headed friend. Each time he had been caught looking at the fire-haired guy with a dreamy smile on hid face, he felt his heart jump and he looked away quickly trying to hide his crimson cheeks which never seem to tarry in their appearance. So now he was wondering if his mind was trying to tell him something…maybe he really did appreciate the presence of Axel nearby, or again maybe he just wanted to be loved by him. But, then again, there was something which was, possibly, yet more troubling…what if he was gay? He really wasn't delighted about that…not that it was bad or anything, but he didn't want to be…he REALLY didn't want to be…that.  It was scaring him.  So, tonight, he was certainly going to have a talk with Sora.

      However, there was no one in sight as he slowly wended his way through the corridors. He reached the staircase and descended the two flights to the floor where the lockers were. Just before he entered the first row, he heard a voice calling him, but one that wasn't really familiar.  He looked around, but at first didn't see anyone.

      "Up here." The voice said.

      He looked to where it came from and saw, sitting coolly on the closest window frame, about 5 feet off the ground, Seifer.  

      "Roxas, right?" He asked, staring, a bit rudely, the blonde thought.

      "Uh, yeah..." He replied, looking perplexed.  

      "You're new here, huh?"  

      "Hum, yes…" He answered, still not trusting the thuggish guy.

      "And you're Sora's cousin?" He said.  Roxas nodded. "Okay… And y'know Hayner…?" Again, Roxas nodded. "But hum… I know sometimes he's rather... self-seeking.  Is he?"

      "Huh? Well… Hum…" Roxas said vaguely, hesitating.

      "Anyway, just so y'know he's not always like that. Gotta know him better… But Pence said to me that he's up to som'thing, so if ya got any problems just tell me."

      "Oh…um, thanks?" He said, looking bewildered again.

      Slowly the blonde stepped toward the row where his locker was. He wouldn't have thought that Seifer would be that nice just by looking at him. But something was bugging him…why would he help him, the new kid, anyway? And Hayner was up to something? It was surely about him, right? Otherwise Seifer wouldn't have told him…

      When he reached his locker he unlocked it, getting his bag and placing the strap on his shoulder as he closed his locker again. <Yay…that's exactly what I need… Something else to think about…> He thought as he let an exasperation sigh leave his lips.  

      He hurried to the front door, hearing his footsteps echoing in the empty passageways. He let himself slide on the floor and turned the last corner leading to the hall where he saw the red-head waiting for him, without noticing a smile growing on his own face.

      "About time Roxy! I was wonderin' if you left without me~!" Axel said looking at him reproachfully, with a  playfull grin on his face.

      "Aw, c'mon! I wouldn't do that!" Roxas said, grinning back and punching the other on his arm.

      "Ow…really?" He said, rubbing his arm where he had been hurt. "In that case...Let's go!"  

      He put an arm around the blond's shoulders leading him outside. When they arrived at the store, Axel began to look excited. Maybe sugar wasn't a good idea after all… He entered and led the way to the candy corner. You certainly could not miss it. There were so many candies! The blonde was looking amazed and indecisive in the face of the crazy variety. Axel looked at him and giggled at the look on his face.

      "Awesome, huh?" He said, smiling.

      "You mean there's an ABUNDANCE! How do you choose!?"  

      "Well…… The secret is…… you don't choose" He said, winking at him.

      Roxas stared at him, perplexed. The red-head looked at the shelves full of candies and began to take some of every sweet he might like.

      "Axel! This is too much for you! Even if you don't put on a ton of weight from all the carbs you're gonna consume, you'll explode from all this sugar!" Roxas said, somewhat reproachfully.

      "Then you'll have to help me. Looks like /your/ sugar rate is kinda low. I'll have to take care of that from now." Axel replied, with a professional tone.

      "My sugar what?"

      "Exactly what I was saying, you need sugar." The red-head said looking at him with a small smile. "C'mon, let's pay."

      "But-But…!"

      "No /butt/ Roxas. We've already talked about this…even though I don't mind if you change your mind." He said playfully.

      He walked to the cash register, Roxas following, rolling his eyes and smiling. The cashier looked like he knew Axel pretty well… Not very surprising. After the red-head paid, they left the shop with a bag full of sweets and found their way to a park: the same park Roxas found himself the last day after running out of the school. Axel sat on a swing beside the blonde. He began to rummage through the bags, looking for his favorite candies.

      "Get me the gummy worms, would you??" Roxas said, looking at the candies hungrily.

      "Hey! You won't touch any of my worms, got it memorized?" Axel said, grabbing the bag of worms and cuddling it to make sure the blonde wouldn't touch it.

      "What!? You're kidding me! Gimme some worms."

      "Nope."

      "C'mon! Gimme the worms!" Roxas said, a bit more firmly.

      "I won't." Axel said stubbornly. The blonde stayed silence a moment, but then started again.

      "Give me some worms Axel."

      "No" The red-head said, a smile now growing in the corner of his lips.

      "You're going to give me some worms or…"  

      "Or what??" Axel said as he picked one of said worms out of the bag and looked at it, ready to eat it.

      "Don't you dare eat that worm without giving me one…" Roxas said.

      Axel raised one of his eyebrows with interest. He slowly lifted the worm above his head as he opened his mouth ready to eat the candy. Suddenly, Roxas jumped up and grabbed the red-head's arm. At first, the red-head tried to stare him down, and then both of them started pulling, trying to get the worm. They struggled for the worm half-laughing and half-scowling. At one moment, the blonde was holding the worm only an inch away from his mouth, but then the red-head pulled back, keeping the other from eating it. Unexpectedly, Axel slipped off the swing, falling backwards onto the ground. Roxas, who was still holding the other's arm, fell with him. The blonde took advantage of this and, without noticing it, straddled the other, pinning him to the ground so the red-head couldn't move as quickly as before. Roxas noticed the worm getting way too near Axel's mouth. He tried pulling harder on the other's arm, but it didn't seem to work well, so he leaned forward, getting closer to the worm. He opened his mouth, as the worm was right in front of his face. Finally, he closed his teeth on the jelly, followed by his lips, which brushed against Axel's fingers. The touch of skin to skin made them suddenly aware of their position, but they didn't move at first. Roxas' cheeks burned crimson as he stared at emerald eyes. His heart was pounding crazy in his chest. Their faces were so close and Roxas felt his eyelids slowly falling, Axel's fingers lingering on his lips. Why was he feeling so… wonderful? He would have stayed like this forever, if only he could. But then he remembered… he wasn't gay. Well, this was what he tried to convince himself as he opened his eyes, looking at Axel…and feeling even more thrilled. The red-head pulled back his fingers at last, looking right into sapphire eyes. Then, a smile slowly grew across his beautiful features.

      "What?" Roxas asked, pulling out of his embarrassment slightly.

      "Looks like you love worms too…… and……" Axel said in a low voice. Then he reached to whisper softly in the other's ear, "you're cute when you blush."

      The blonde rolled his eyes as his cheeks reddened even more and he got to his feet. He reached his hand out to Axel, this time standing steadily on his feet as he pulled the other up. The red-head sure liked to have fun with him… though now it was confusing him a lot. Sora wasn't going to get any sleep tonight…