Hey... I was sick again today, so I wrote this chapter for you. (somehow, writing this has become stress relief for when I feel like shit.) although, I think (or at least, I hope) that this chapter is infinitely better than the last one, which, I admit, was a bit of a filler.

In short, it sucked.

This one is better. Trust me. (and WOOT, it's almost 3000 words!)

Oh, and before I forget, I want to give a shout out to ., who royally chewed me out over what I did to Zexion! Thank you SO MUCH! I've been waiting for someone to bitch at me, and she (or he) was the one to do it! And, even though they're not gonna be reading this anymore, I'm just writing this note for the sake of writing it.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts...and again, I'm sorry for any mistakes.

-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo

The next day came sooner than Zexion realized. To be quite frank, he hadn't payed much attention to the remainder of his classed yesterday, so it was little wonder that the young scientist remained oblivious to the lapse in time. So when Mr. Setzer handed out a quiz sheet in Mathematics that morning, it was pretty much a boot to the head, one he realized that he never studied. (Not that he didn't already know the answers. As he'd mentioned before; non-linear equations were easy.)

French class second period wasn't much better. Apparently their normal teacher, Mr. Kinneas, had fallen ill, and hence they were tormented with their obnoxiously flamboyant substitute, Mr. Seymour. Not only was the ridiculous man an inferior teacher compared to Irvine, he also happened to have the worst fashion sense Zexion had ever seen. the self-satisfied man wore his outrageously BLUE hair long, along with a sparkly cream coloured dress shirt and dark gray straight-legged pants. He was also the most narcissistic man Zexion had ever had the misfortune to meet, but he'd rather not get into any unpleasant details.

But, the laughable excuse for a class had alerted Zexion to an interesting fact; Roxas was in his French class. And no, he had never noticed this before. In fact, he couldn't even name half of the kids in any of his classes; he never bothered learning their names. That, and the fact that Roxas was situated in the back left corner of the classroom, and Zexion was up near the front.

So now, as Zexion trodded lightly down the perpetually crowded hallway toward his locker, his mind was still in sort of a semi-daze. He didn't know why; he'd just been really out of it since some time yesterday. But now, as he passed countless other students with unseeing eyes; registering the existence of people but not catching the details of their clothing or faces, he could barely keep his head clear enough to walk.

He hoped he wasn't getting sick; illness was the last thing he needed right now. Although, the notion was completely plausible, after all, Mr. Kinneas had already succumbed to the effects of flu season. Who's to say that Zexion wouldn't be next?

Sidestepping a cluster of Juniors without even bothering to focus his vision, he walked on auto-pilot to the spot he knew his locker was. Spinning the lock code without even looking at the tiny numbers, he opened the door and set his French text down at the bottom carefully. Then, he grabbed the brown paper bag that held his lunch. Yes, Zexion packed his own lunch for school, thank you very much. The cafeteria food was fattening and boring, although it tasted quite good. That, and Zexion simply couldn't be bothered to waste his money on over-expensive food every day.

With his goal accomplished, Zexion slammed the metal door shut with a loud clang, and latched the lock. He blinked twice to clear the haze from his eyes. It worked, and he actually found himself able to pay heed to people around him for the first time that day. Heading back the way he came, he once again stepped around the group he bypassed previously. Zell Dincht, Yuffie Kisaragi, and another girl that Zexion was not acquainted with. She was obviously one of the more popular girls in the school, however, judging by the somewhat proud way she composed herself. He believed her name was Ashe, or something to that effect. All in all, they were a rather different group to be seen together.

Continuing down the hall, Zexion made it to the cafeteria, and stood patiently just outside the large double-doors; Roxas had found him just before he left the French room to let him know that Axel and Demyx had both gotten 10-minute detentions for goofing off in English, and for Zexion to please wait for them. Apparently Roxas was just going to wait outside the detention room until they were released.

Still, he found his absentminded state returning to him, and he found himself staring blankly ahead of himself. Dozens of students passed by him, and he busied himself by counting their blurry feet as they strode by him on their way into the cafeteria.

'34, 35, 36, 36, 39...dammit.' Zexion huffed as he lost count. Groaning inwardly, he shook himself out of his mental disorientation and looked up, blinking the blurriness out of his eyes.

Only to be met with stunning copper II sulfate.

"Whoa!" He couldn't help but give a startled yelp as he backpeddled, ending up smacking his head against the white stone wall outside the caf. An amused cackle made it's way to his ears.

"Holy fuck, Dems. You trying to give him a heart attack?" Came a bemused and slightly accented voice from over to Zexion's right. Whipping his head around so fast he swore he heard it crack, Zexion found himself face-to-face with the redhead of the group. He also noticed for the first time, the small tattoos that adorned the older boy's cheeks. Two black identical inverted triangles, one on each cheek, just below the eyes.

"Oh, shut up, Axel!" Demyx pouted, drawing Zexion's attention away from the distracting redhead, "I'm sorry Zexion, I really didn't mean to scare ya, scouts honor!" He nodded vigorously, holding his hand up like he was swearing an oath.

"It's okay," Zexion assured the dirty blond, "Just... unexpected." 'And certainly not unwanted...'

"Pshhhh! He had his face like, four inches from yours, kid! I'm sure as hell surprised you didn't scream 'rape!' when you looked up." The crass voice of Axel scoffed.

Zexion's face reddened. Had Demyx really put his face that close? Surely the loud boy was exaggerating!

He opened his mouth to retort, but stopped short when he noticed something, "Where's Roxas?"

Axel spoke up, "Little Roxy's in the office at the moment. I guess Sora just went home sick with the Flu or something, so of course Roxas went to see him off. It's a twin thing, y'know?" The redhead's jade eyes glinted with playful mischief as he spoke about the vertically challenged blond, and Zexion took careful note of this. It suddenly brought into his mind the scene he had watched in the Music room, where Axel had literally smothered the boy in an excited glomp, before being shoved off.

A loud cough interrupted the light mood.

"So, exactly whoare you calling 'Little', Axel?" Roxas asked in a devilishly innocent tone, smiling sweetly at the much taller teen, who visibly paled.

"U-uhmmm, n-no one, Roxas! What makes you think that?" Axel chucked nervously, shifting his weight from foot to foot. The blond, however, seemed unimpressed with his answer, and jabbed two fingers sharply into Axel's stomach.

"Ow!"

Ignoring the redhead's shout of protest, Roxas grabbed ahold of his ear while Axel was doubled over clutching his stomach. With an iron grip, the small boy effectively dragged the bent over and yowling Axel through the cafeteria doors, looking back over his shoulder to Zexion and Demyx.

"Well, are you two coming, or are you just gonna stand in the hall all day?" He asked, disappearing into the crowded room.

The remaining two stood there, Zexion momentarily shocked, while Demyx shook his head and sighed deeply. Apparently this was old card to him. The former coughed awkwardly, attracting Demyx's attention.

"...Do they do that often?" Zexion finally managed, blinking in confusion.

"Yeah, more or less," Demyx shrugged, plastering a cheery smile on his face, "Sometimes it's different though. Occasionally Roxas'll stomp on Axel's feet instead of jabbing him in the belly. Either way, he's gotta get Axel to keel over before he can reach his ear." He gave a small giggle.

"So are they..." Zexion suddenly felt really awkward for asking, "Together?" He turned his face away from Demyx to hide the light pink that was marring his pale face.

"Pshh, naw. Not officially, anyways. Although they're as obvious as an elephant on the roof, heck, even you got them figured out, after seeing them for all of 30 seconds." He paused, "I mean it; it'd be a lot easier if they'd just confess already. You should feel lucky, Zexion. I've had to deal with their sexual frustration since I can remember..."

Zexion nodded sadly, showing his sympathy. Wait..."You remembered my name." He said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Demyx paused, grinning and rubbing the nape of his neck sheepishly, "Uhh, yeah... I guess I did." He sounded more thoughtful than embarrassed, "It's unique, right? I don't think I've ever met another Zexion."

"Yours is unique as well." Zexion offered as he stepped past Demyx into the cafeteria, looking around to the groups who sat conversing around the circular tables. The noise of sneakers against the linoleum floor let him know that Demyx had indeed followed him. Craning his neck, he searched the room for any sign of Roxas and his redheaded companion, to no avail. He was just too short to see far enough. Luckily for Zexion, Demyx noticed the slate-haired boy's predicament.

"They're over there," He pointed past a table overcrowded with freshmen to their right, "Just past those guys, second table from the wall."

Zexion nodded and stayed silent as he followed the fauxhawked blond to the aforementioned table, occupying his sight with the back of Demyx's interestingly styled hair. He vaguely wondered how much gel the boy used to get his hair to stay like that. Would it feel soft to the touch--NO. He stopped himself before his thoughts could progress into something more distracting.

'Don't you DARE start thinking those things now!' He scolded himself, 'You're just here to hang out and make some new friends, NOT to fantasize about things that will never happen.' He thought the last part rather dejectedly, causing a rather nasty grimace to appear on his features.

"Zexion...are you okay?" He was jostled out of his mental squabble at the sound of Roxas' concerned voice. He nodded.

"Yeah. Lost in thought, I guess." He mumbled, looking around the table they had arrived at. Roxas and Axel were sitting beside each other, the latter nursing his injured ear. Demyx had pulled up a chair a little further away from them, and was staring at Zexion concernedly. "Really, I'm fine." He assured, pulling up a chair for himself, and opening his lunch, pulling out an apple and taking a large bite.

"If you say so..." Roxas trailed off, returning his attention to the paper on the table before him. Probably homework.

Axel gave a small yawn and Zexion turned to look at him, "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Zexion Shinkirou. Not 'kid', as you earlier referred to me."

"Axel Shinra, at your service!" The redhead retorted sarcastically, inclining his head in Zexion's direction and giving a wicked smirk; akin to a Cheshire cat. "I'm seventeen years old, Leo, I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women(1)...or men, whichever one's available." He winked suggestively at Zexion, who rolled his eyes, catching the sight of Roxas going rigid where he sat doing his homework. Zexion smiled inwardly; it seems Demyx was undoubtedly correct about his hypothesis.

"Charmed." Zexion replied sarcastically, looking over to the still tense Roxas, "What subject?"

"...French" The blond muttered, obviously cross, "Kinneas wanted me to write an essay for extra credit, since I missed the second half of my midterm project..."

"Why?"

Roxas' eyebrow twitched, "Friggin' chicken pox." He ground out, scribbling furiously on the paper.

Axel let out a coarse bark of laughter, "It was the third time he's gotten it, to. Talk about shit luck, eh?"

"Look, guys, not to be rude or anything, but," Roxas began, placing his pencil on the table for the sake of massaging his temples, "Could we NOT talk about this; I seriously need to get this finished before Mr. Kinneas gets better, or I'm screwed."

"Awww, poor Roxy," Axel cooed, draping an arm over the smaller boy's shoulders, "I don't even know how you can be such a whiz at French. Get this through your head, blondie: J'bored."

"I don't even know how you can't even learn a simple sentence. Read my lips, Ax: Je m'ennuie." Roxas rolled his eyes, shrugging Axel's arm off his shoulder

"Ge man weee?" Axel mimicked, "Sorry Rox, no dice."

"Demyx giggled across the table, earning the attention of the other three students, "You two are such retards." He said between tiny bouts of laughter. Axel and Roxas scoffed and turned away, and Demyx turned to Zexion, mouthing, "See? I told you they're totally hot for each other!", shielding his mouth from sight with his hand. Zexion nodded, letting a small smile grace his lips.

"Yes, you're correct." Zexion replied, one again finding his eyes locked with the entrancing colour of Demyx's irises. He blinked, closing his eyes tightly to block out any thoughts he knew would soon resurface.

Thankfully, his thoughts didn't have time to become too troublesome; the shrill sound of the bell interrupted the reverie, and Zexion stood, gently pushing in his chair. The others did the same, their chairs scratching against the floor as they were pushed in, followed by the cacophony of footsteps as the four boys exited the cafeteria. Axel, Roxas and Demyx turned left out of the door while Zexion headed to the right. Barely five feet down the hall, Zexion felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Turning around on his heel, he saw Demyx smiling at him.

"You should hang with us more often," The musician suggested, a friendly tone in his voice, "It's fun to have someone to hang around other than the two lovebirds. See you tomorrow then?" He asked, turning around to head back the way he came.

"Okay." Zexion agreed. Somehow, he felt slightly more hopeful about his and Demyx's friendship than before.

-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-

It was already becoming dark out by the time Zexion arrived home that night. Digging his keys out of his pocket, he unlocked the front door. Flipping the switch that rested on the wall just beside the door frame, he squinted slightly while his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in brightness. Kicking off his shoes and leaving them lying on a mat, he trudged into the house, weary after the long day at school.

Passing through the living room, he slid his bag off his shoulder and tossed it onto the couch. He made to go into the kitchen to grab some food, but was immediately distracted by the flashing red light on the message machine.

'How odd,' He mused, strolling idly toward the blinking device, 'No one ever calls here. they all know Mother and Father are never home, and I certainly have no one to call. Except perhaps Lexaeus, but he knows to call my cell phone...' Reaching the machine, he pressed down on the 'play' button. Needless to say, the slate haired teenager was shocked when he heard his mother's voice play out of the machine, trembling as she obviously fought back tears.

"Zexion, I-I know you're at school, but please...as soon as you get this, come to the hospital. I-it's you Father...he and your uncle were doing a general survey of the lab, when one of the apprentices accidentally disrupted a sample of francium...T-t-they were both s-severely injured. Braig just got out of surgery; he lost an eye and his memory due to a concussion. He does nothing but lie there...h-he thinks his n-name is Xigbar now. Your father is still on the operating table...Please, sweetie...t-they don't know if he's gonna make i--"

Her shaking voice was cut off by the ending beep, and Zexion stood there. Too shocked to move. Never in his admittedly short life did he foresee this happening. Both Father and uncle Braig (or Xigbar now, he supposed) were almost killed...

Suddenly coming to his senses, Zexion turned and ran back to the door, haphazardly stuffing his feet back into his shoes before bolting out the door, pausing only to lock the door as he sprinted down the driveway.

Somehow, he didn't think he'd get the chance to make good on his promise to Demyx tomorrow.

-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-xo-

(1) This is a quote from "Supernatural", which is the most amazing real-people show ever. Dean Winchester says it when he's in jail, and they try to videotape his 'confession' to the so-called murders he committed.

I hope this was more up to you guys' expectations.

CaCoPhOnY Of ScReAmS(is so sick right now, she's coughing up a fucking lung)