Save Me
Willas: Yay! I'm back with another chapter! Alas, this one also took forever to get out, my apologies! My friend gave me a swift kick in the ass a few days ago and it got me into writing again.
Axel: Lazy bum!
Willas: Oh, shush, you! Anyways, here's chapter seven! Where we left off with Roxas and his internal sufferings!
Roxas: You're having way too much fun with making me suffer…
Willas: Nonsense! –whistles innocently- Oh! And I went back and fixed grammatical errors, spelling and such, and tweaked a few things that were either pointed out by readers(like Marluxia's nickname being confused for Luxord) or stuck out at me when I read them again. Nothing really worth going back to read all the chapters again for, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of you go back to reread to refresh yourself on the storyline….it's been that long…. D':
Disclaimer: Sigh, I still don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. –Cries- I only own the plot and few original characters. Nothing more.
Warnings: Yaoi, lemon (later chapters), AU and OOC-ness.
Chapter Seven: Hidden Talent?
OOOOOO
Roxas felt like bashing his head into the table. What he had thought was going to be a quiet, secluded lunch had turned into a convention of half the school. Or, at least that's how it felt to Roxas' shy nature. After Demyx, Larxene, and Axel had unceremoniously dropped in, nine other people soon joined them, and the timid blond thought he was going to have a panic attack. He wasn't used to being around so many unknown people at once, and being the center of attention of said unknown people was even worse.
"Ugh, I hate being the center of attention," he thought vehemently. "That's why I finally stopped…" He shook his head the get rid of the thought. "The past is the past. Just forget it already! No matter how much I loved it-" Roxas was startled out of his reminiscing when he felt a nudge to his ribs. Blinking the world back into focus, he looked at the one who elbowed him. Axel. Of course. "Huh?"
Axel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jeez, talk about blank with a capital 'B'." Roxas blushed as the rest of the table snickered.
"Well, now I know how Demyx, of all people, was able to sneak up on you, as loud as he is!" Xigbar said with a laugh.
"Hey! I'm not that loud!" Demyx shouted indignantly. Larxene simply patted him on the head.
"Of course, not, hon. Believe whatever you want," she cooed. Demyx glared and went back to eating his sandwich. Roxas looked around the table, feeling like an outsider in the group. Everyone here had a tight camaraderie, and he was intruding. He peeked at Axel who was trying to get his cousin to like sushi to no avail. Giving up, the redhead turned back around in his seat and glanced at Roxas. Noticing Roxas' gaze, he smiled at the small blond and Roxas shyly smiled back. Looking back down at his hands though, he frowned.
"Man, what am I doing here?"
OOOOOO
Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, Sora felt like banging his head against the table. The noise in the room was deafening, and he could barely hear himself think. Though he supposed it was a good thing, seeing as all he could think about was-
"Sora!" Riku screamed to be heard over everyone else in the room, even though he was only sitting two feet away from his friend. Seeing that the blue-eyed boy was still distracted, Riku picked up a French fry and threw it at his face. That got his attention.
"Eh? Hey! What was that for?" the brunet yelled when he realized who threw it. Riku rolled his eyes.
"I've only been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes!"
"Oh." Sora scratched his cheek and smiled sheepishly. "Well, then, what did you want?" he yelled back. Frowning, Riku whispered something to Naminé, who nodded and traded places with him so he could talk to Sora.
Able to speak in a normal tone, he said, "I was just wondering what we're going to do about Roxas. I know he's burying the pain right now, but I think we should try to do something to help cheer him up." Sora wrinkled his brow in thought.
"I dunno, Riku. I mean, he's not really the type of person who likes to be distracted from their brooding. Every attempt I've made in the past was unsuccessful, and-" Riku cut him off.
"But do you want your brother to be a negative Nancy? Come on! I think we should do something!" Having been listening to their boyfriends' conversation, Kairi and Naminé nodded in agreement.
"He's right, Sora. We should try to help him!" Kairi chimed in.
"Yeah, I hate to see Roxas this depressed. I know he's not always as happy as he seems," Naminé added as they all got up from the table, "but we should at least try to find something that will take his mind off of it, if only for a little while." Sora was surprised at her perceptiveness of Roxas' forced emotions, though he shouldn't have been considering her favorite hobby besides drawing was studying people. He frowned in thought as they left the cafeteria, considering their reasoning before smiling and nodding.
"Okay, we can try." "Man, I'm lucky to have friends who care about Roxas as much as I do!" Then he frowned again. "But, how do we do it?" They all fell silent as they tried to think. Walking past the main office, Kairi glanced up at the bulletin board and then swung her eyes back to it as a flyer caught her attention. Reading the flyer she grabbed one from where it was tacked.
"Hey guys, I think I have an idea of what might cheer him up!" Instead of explaining she waved the flyer in Sora's face until he grabbed it so he could read it without getting a headache. As he read he smiled, but a frown took its place shortly after.
"I dunno Kairi. I would think it would only be a further reminder of…"
"But didn't you say he loved this? That even when you were little that this was one of the only things that made him really happy? We should at least give it a shot and see what he has to say about it." Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed another flyer and rushed out to the courtyard to find Roxas.
Riku raised his brow at the girl's persistency. "Wow, when she makes up her mind about something there's no stopping her is there?" Sora sighed with a smile.
"You have NO idea."
OOOOOO
Axel observed as Roxas sat there awkwardly while the rest of the group's conversations carried on around them.
"Sigh, I think I missed that question on the Chemistry test…"
"You? Miss a get a question wrong in Chemistry? That's a laugh…"
"Who's up for a game of cards!…"
"As long as it's not poker…"
"Watch it! You almost got water all over my books…"
"Whoops, sorry!…"
"So, did you hear about that new movie coming out soon? The previews kicked ass…"
"I swear, if you get that in my hair I will kill you…"
"Yeah dude, he'll like, totally have to chop off his dreads, man…"
"Sounds like an improvement…"
"Oh screw you Larxene!"
"Nah, that's Marly's job! Haha- OW!"
"Come again you little brat?"
"Dude, what's everyone doing this weekend? We should totally…"
"Hey, when are tryouts, Larxene?"
"Hmm, this Friday. I'm still trying to convince Axel to go with me. Speaking of whom….Axel. AXEL!" Axel snapped to attention. He faintly blushed while trying to look like he hadn't been staring intently at the petite blond next to him.
"Yeah, what do you want?" He blinked up innocently at Larxene. She gave Axel a knowing smirk but let it drop.
"You are coming to tryouts with me, right?" She raised a brow as if daring him to challenge her mandate. Axel just scoffed.
"Absolutely….NOT! You're crazy!" He crossed his arms defiantly as she scowled at him.
"Oh, come on! We lost a couple of our best people last year when they graduated! I checked the signup sheet today and we just need one more person to fill the slots! One more! Please!"
Roxas, as well as everyone else, watched the exchange with interest. "Tryouts? Tryouts for what?"
"No! If you think that I'm going to-" He as he spotted four freshmen running towards their table.
"Roxas! There you are!" Kairi huffed as she reached the group first; Sora, Riku, and Naminé following closely. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Here, read this. I don't know why I never thought of it before, but you should totally do it!" She passed the flyer in her hand to Roxas who slowly read it over.
Roxas stared blankly at the paper in his hand as Kairi eagerly awaited a reaction. "These must be the tryouts Larxene was talking about," he decided when he saw her name listed as team captain. Larxene, seeing the flyer, looked sharply at Roxas.
"Wait, you mean you-?" The hope in her voice was obvious and it almost made him want to say 'yes'. Almost. Instead, he crumpled the flyer in his hand and stood to collect his things before giving Larxene a hard look.
"Not anymore." With that, Roxas threw away the remainder of his lunch into a nearby bin and walked away.
"Roxas!" Kairi made to follow him, but Sora held her back. She looked at him questioningly.
"Let him go. I didn't think he would accept it right off, but maybe he'll change his mind." Kairi turned to watch Roxas' retreating back.
"What? How can you say that? He read it and just walked off!" She waved a hand in the departing blonde's direction as if Sora didn't notice him leaving.
"Yea…but he didn't throw the flyer away," Sora pointed out. Sure enough, crumpled though it was, the little neon flyer was still in his hand. "That's more than I expected, really," he admitted. "But maybe he will give it some thought. Just give him time."
The people still sitting at the table all gave the four teens puzzled looks except for Axel. He noticed the forlorn look on Sora's face. Fixing a concerned gaze on Roxas whom was climbing the steps into the school, he wondered what he had missed.
OOOOOO
Willas: Sorry! I had to cut it off there! It was the only place I could end it without giving away what the tryouts were for! Forgive meee! T-T I'll try to make the next chapter longer! Promise! Also, see if you can guess what the tryouts are for. Probably not what you would expect! Correct guesses earn muffins! -
Thanks to my readers!!:
Ruminative-Be, tempo out of service., The Bittersweet End, SXR4EVA, Kel-Vampyre, CrazyLittleMello, lovetheHams, Kyro259, The Mist Alchemist, Suna's Assassin. –you all get pocky sticks!- (To who said that pocky is expensive, just go to Wal-Mart, they have a good sized box of it for 90 something cents in the oriental section! :D)